Russia's other election
In the United States, it was billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov who topped the poll of
expat Russians voting in the election back home
Ayano Hodouchi - Moscow News - themoscownews.com - 3.23.12 - JRL 2012-55

"Jeez, election shmelection," said Alexander, a Russian friend of mine in L.A. when I asked him if he went to vote on March 4. That seemed to be the sentiment of many Russians living in the United States ­ nothing so far had given them any faith in elections, and they weren't going to start believing now.

"The "vote" of individual citizens like me doesn't matter," said Sergei, a student in New York. He also pointed out the lack of real opposition candidates, saying the other four candidates reminded him of the "embarrassing choice of republican candidates" in the GOP race. If Alexei Navalny had been given a fair chance it might have been different, he said.

Yet, many others did go to vote, and some went to great lengths to do so. In Chicago, there was no polling station in the city and the only place to vote in Illinois was in the suburbs almost 40 kilometers away, accessible only by car. Anastasia and her three friends went together to vote and found a terribly long line out the door.

"There were only two people checking our passports and taking down our details with a pen into a notebook and we waited three hours. Quite a few people saw the long line and just gave up and went home," she said.

Undeterred by the fact that by the time she got through the long line, Putin had already declared victory in Moscow, Anastasia voted for Prokhorov, as did many other Russians in the United States, including jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky's son, Pavel Khodorkovsky, in New York.

In fact, among Russian voters in the United States Prokhorov won the presidential election, garnering about half of the votes, compared to Putin who trailed behind with about one-third. "I was surprised that even the older generation was voting for Prokhorov, but they were really fed up with Putin and wanted a change," Anastasia said.

Some voters had never been diligent election-goers even in Russia, but they felt something had to be done and that gradual change could only take place through small steps. Voting outside your home country is an irksome matter, I know.

In my 12 years outside Japan, I must admit that I have never voted, since polling stations and times are inconvenient and the voting procedure much more complicated than at home. Frankly, I thought the hassle outweighed whatever weight my one little vote might carry. It did impress me, therefore, that Russians felt that their vote might make a difference despite an election system they believed was deeply flawed, to say the least.

Voters on the west coast are particularly skeptical ­ after all, considering the 12-hour time difference, the preliminary results are already out in Moscow by the time polling stations open.

While my friend in L.A. said that voting is a complete waste of his time, he added, "but I went to Bolotnaya." No one believed that they could keep Putin from becoming president again in 2012.

Yet they are making their opinions heard, one way or another, by voting or protesting, by spreading the word and making it known what their political stance is, because they feel that if they don't care for a better future enough to make a stand, nothing will ever change. And that's far more responsible than many apathetic voters like me in more "democratic" countries with fair elections.

Living in Russia, I learnt that what is everyone's problem is no one's problem. Now, I think Russians are starting to teach me the opposite lesson.

Keywords: Russia, Government, Politics - Russian News - Russia

"Jeez, election shmelection," said Alexander, a Russian friend of mine in L.A. when I asked him if he went to vote on March 4. That seemed to be the sentiment of many Russians living in the United States ­ nothing so far had given them any faith in elections, and they weren't going to start believing now.

"The "vote" of individual citizens like me doesn't matter," said Sergei, a student in New York. He also pointed out the lack of real opposition candidates, saying the other four candidates reminded him of the "embarrassing choice of republican candidates" in the GOP race. If Alexei Navalny had been given a fair chance it might have been different, he said.

Yet, many others did go to vote, and some went to great lengths to do so. In Chicago, there was no polling station in the city and the only place to vote in Illinois was in the suburbs almost 40 kilometers away, accessible only by car. Anastasia and her three friends went together to vote and found a terribly long line out the door.

"There were only two people checking our passports and taking down our details with a pen into a notebook and we waited three hours. Quite a few people saw the long line and just gave up and went home," she said.

Undeterred by the fact that by the time she got through the long line, Putin had already declared victory in Moscow, Anastasia voted for Prokhorov, as did many other Russians in the United States, including jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky's son, Pavel Khodorkovsky, in New York.

In fact, among Russian voters in the United States Prokhorov won the presidential election, garnering about half of the votes, compared to Putin who trailed behind with about one-third. "I was surprised that even the older generation was voting for Prokhorov, but they were really fed up with Putin and wanted a change," Anastasia said.

Some voters had never been diligent election-goers even in Russia, but they felt something had to be done and that gradual change could only take place through small steps. Voting outside your home country is an irksome matter, I know.

In my 12 years outside Japan, I must admit that I have never voted, since polling stations and times are inconvenient and the voting procedure much more complicated than at home. Frankly, I thought the hassle outweighed whatever weight my one little vote might carry. It did impress me, therefore, that Russians felt that their vote might make a difference despite an election system they believed was deeply flawed, to say the least.

Voters on the west coast are particularly skeptical ­ after all, considering the 12-hour time difference, the preliminary results are already out in Moscow by the time polling stations open.

While my friend in L.A. said that voting is a complete waste of his time, he added, "but I went to Bolotnaya." No one believed that they could keep Putin from becoming president again in 2012.

Yet they are making their opinions heard, one way or another, by voting or protesting, by spreading the word and making it known what their political stance is, because they feel that if they don't care for a better future enough to make a stand, nothing will ever change. And that's far more responsible than many apathetic voters like me in more "democratic" countries with fair elections.

Living in Russia, I learnt that what is everyone's problem is no one's problem. Now, I think Russians are starting to teach me the opposite lesson.