Putin on track for commanding win as Russians head to polls

A woman casts her ballot during the presidential election at a polling station in the far eastern city of Vladivostok, Russia March 18, 2018. [Photo: Courtesy]

 Russians began voting in a presidential election on Sunday set to give Vladimir Putin a commanding victory that could only be blemished if large numbers do not bother taking part because the result is so predictable.

On Russia’s eastern edge, in the Pacific coast city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, polling stations opened at 2000 hrs GMT, and voting across the vast country will run until polls close at the westernmost point, the Kaliningrad region, 22 hours later.