Villagers despair as Russia elects new leader

ANINO, Russia (Reuters) - Yevdokiya Andreyeva, one of 10 voters registered in a ramshackle, decaying village outside Moscow, was shocked to discover that her favorite candidate -- Vladimir Putin -- was not on the ballot list.

"I walked here all this way and you are saying I can't vote for Putin?" asked the 82-year-old as she stopped on a rutted dirt track outside a wooden hut doubling as a polling station.

When a passer-by, wrapped in layers against gusts of snow, explained that Putin's chosen successor -- Dmitry Medvedev -- was standing in for the incumbent, she nodded with satisfaction.

"Fine. It will be Medvedev then," she said, turning towards the hut, the Russian national flag flapping above the entrance.

Like Andreyeva, few among Russia's 109 million registered voters doubted that Medvedev, a 42-year-old former lawyer who enjoys Putin's endorsement, would win Sunday's vote by a big, Soviet-style margin.

Putin is barred by term limits from running again but many Russians credit him for eight years of economic growth which has transformed cities such Moscow into a mass of glitzy shops, smart cafes and costly sushi bars.

But in the nation's darkest, poverty-stricken corners -- such as Anino just outside the capital -- a lot of people feel disenchanted and abandoned, blaming the Kremlin for its failure to let some of the booming oil wealth trickle down to the poor.

"I am tired of living like this. I am tired of thinking that being able to afford food for my child is an achievement," said Alla Semyonova, a 66-year-old former oil geologist.

"We all live like animals. I am not going to vote for anyone. They say on television that Russia is a superpower with a huge economy. They should come here to see for themselves."

This attitude is a worry to election organizers across the world's biggest nation, tasked with ensuring a high turnout. A low number would embarrass the Kremlin by casting doubt on its assertions of widespread support for government policies.

COMPULSORY VOTING

In the town of Sychevo -- a scattering of brutal Soviet architecture, potholed roads and poorly stocked shops -- people said state enterprises made voting compulsory for workers, in a throw-back to Soviet times when elections were mandatory.

"I was asked to call a designated person once I've voted," Ivan Drozhin, a hospital worker in his 50s, said outside a polling station, a statue of Vladimir Lenin towering nearby.

"They are making lists of everyone who has voted and who has not, just in case."

In other towns, polling stations used tea and snacks to lure people into voting. One polling station promised free tickets to a local concert. A official in a tiny village, Ivoilovo, said their goal was to secure at least a 60 percent turnout.

But most villagers said they would not vote anyway. Two people Reuters spoke to did not even know it was election day.

"Voting is a waste of time. There is no respect for voters," said Pyotr, a villager who asked that his surname not be used.

The Kremlin has vowed to hold a free and fair vote but Western observers refused to send election monitors, citing lack of official cooperation.

Opposition candidates were either barred from running or decided to boycott the campaign in protest. Medvedev is running against three weaker opponents who stand no chance of winning.

In Anino, the head of the local election commission said her main adversary was young people's apathy.

"They say: 'Everything is pre-decided'. But that's wrong, just lies," said Valentina Yakovleva, sitting behind her desk, a photograph of Putin smiling from the wall above her.