If no candidate wins more than 50 in the first round. But with many of mr putins opponents unable to run, it seems inevitable that Vladimir Putin will be re elected without the need for that second ballot. Our russia editor, steve rosenberg, is following developments in moscow. Vladimir putin has been in power a long time, right, 25 years almost as president or Prime Minister. And hes expected to win a fifth president ial term. Now, this whole event, this three day event, which starts today, is being presented by the russian authorities almost as a celebration of democracy. The kremlin just a few days ago described russian democracy as the best democracy in the world. Critics of the kremlin would disagree and would say that this poll is neither free nor fair nor transparent. Vladimir putin does not face a major challenge. There are three other candidates on the ballot paper, but his most vocal critics, his fiercest opponents, are either in exile or in prison, which kind of helps you to
and finally, the bold truth about criminology. i ll explain. first, here s my take. america s job crisis persists, and there seems to be little we can do about it. but actually there is one area where government can create jobs even if consumers aren t spending and businesses aren t hiring. and in a way that is productive for long-term growth. rebuilding america. the american society of civil engineers estimates that america s crumbling infrastructure needs $2 trillion worth of repairs, upgrades, and expansions. with needs on that scale, president obama s infrastructure proposals are at one twentieth the size of the problem. we need a big plan and a ground bargain between left and right to get it. the first element of the bargain would be funding. already there are several good proposals for infrastructure banks. relatively small public investments can be leveraged to attract much larger sums of private capital. compared with other countries, the u.s. still has an astonis