ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—The draft beer taps danced in the bartenders' hands at Manneken Pis, a Belgian café on the Petrogradskaya Side, one of the oldest and most sophisticated neighborhoods of St. Petersburg. On the eve of presidential elections, Vladimir Putin's hometown peacefully enjoyed its Saturday night—no matter what the Kremlin decided, life in Piter, as locals call it, was languid and peaceful.
Petersburgers had no doubts that President Putin would get his fourth term, and indeed as Russians voted on Sunday there was no question about that in anyone's mind. By 5:00 p.m. the turnout was 51.9 percent. Local intelligentsia here brushed away the thought, confident in their political apathy, feeling irritated even by the word “election,” as by some useless waste of time. Most people The Daily Beast interviewed were either planning to spoil their ballot or not vote at all.
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