[Quote]
Putin scorned criticism that March's presidential election would be a fix after his decision to swap places with Medvedev. He said Gordon Brown had taken over from Tony Blair without any election and no one had said that had deprived the British people of a vote. [unquote]
Unless he's as ignorant as he pretends to be, he also knows that Blair stepped down within his term, not at the end of it, indeed depriving the British people of a vote, who, at first opportunity, immediately got rid of Brown! A choice the Russian people will not get.