Putin set for poll triumph_美文_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Putin set for poll triumph

In a pre-election televised address on Friday, Putin called on all voters to "make their deliberate choice" to "define Russia's destiny".

Although there will be no street demonstration on election day, Moscow city hall has approved protests on Monday. While acknowledging that protests were expected no matter how the election turns out, Putin on Friday said all Russians must unite together and "work smoothly and constructively, without shocks or revolutions".

Putin seeks to transform Russia toward a more modern, rule-of-law based society. He also aims for six-to-seven percent annual growth in the economy to put Russia, now ranked 11th, into the top five by the end of this decade.

But this will not be easy.

Parliamentary elections in December saw the ruling United Russia Party narrowly securing a majority - with a sharp drop in seats - in the new State Duma. The protests against alleged fraud in those elections have continued.

Putin, already seeing his support decline in major cities, now has to curb discontent from further penetrating into his major power bases throughout the countryside and industrial towns.

His public approval rating has fallen from 85 percent in mid-2008 to between 63 and 66 percent this month, figures from independent pollster Levada Center showed.