With just days left until the Russia's presidential election, Al Jazeera boarded the Trans-Siberian railway - which connects the remote far east remote to Moscow - to take the pulse of voters across the vast Eurasian nation.
Russians from Siberian cities such as Irkutsk and the far eastern port of Vladivostok must travel thousands of kilometres across many time zones to reach the centre of power in the country.
But many have mixed feelings about the man who has dominated 21st century Russian politics and is now seeking to return to the Kremlin's top job.
While some are unimpressed with Vladimir Putin's track record, for many, even among those for whom life is very hard, there is still no real choice.
Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull reports.
