Actually, it's not a good comparison. We see Russian elections differently than Russians do. I know this from extensive experience being there. Most Russian people love Putin like we love Trump. Putin supports the things they want. He got gay marriage banned in the Russian Constitution. He legalized concealed carry for the first time in at least a century. He is a lot more based than people in the States are led to believe. In fact, the people of Crimea, who are 85% Russian, seceded from Ukraine, and then afterward they applied to the Russian Federation to join. No annexation ever happened. In fact, Ukraine was taken over in a coup by a NAZI party called Svoboda, which triggered the Crimeans to secede. Our media does not report any of the truth. The Soviet Union was indeed evil. Right now, as we keep moving left, Russian keeps slowly moving to the right. You don't have to like it, but it's true. It's a real shame.

https://theconversation.com/russias-rigged-elections-look-nothing-like-the-us-election-they-have-immediate-unquestioned-results-there-149710