U.K.: Russian election rigged?

On the day of the Russian presidential election, The Guardian is reporting that officials have a plan in place to rig the results by falsifying the turnout. The article purports that governors, teachers, and others have been instructed to vote for Medvedev, the candidate endorsed by current President Vladimir Putin, and it attributes this information to "independent sources." Particular numbers were confirmed by Russian officials from outside the Kremlin.

The controversial article has not been confirmed by The Times or the BBC. It is the lead story on the World News page of The Guardian's website, but on the main page, it is placed in secondary importance to an article on Prince Harry's return to the country. This placement recalls the 1980s study in the Mermin article showing how little attention anyone paid to news about the Soviet Union. However, given the controversial claim, it is surprising that the story is not the most prominently featured one. As in coverage of the U.S. election, the article is accompanied by links to other features providing background information about the election.