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Putin Jokes He’ll Work on a Farm If He Loses Election

Vladimir Putin Kremlin Press Service

Seven candidates vying to unseat Vladimir Putin saw their chances improve slightly when the president wondered aloud about his employment prospects in case of a loss in next month's presidential elections.

The offhand remark was delivered at a combine harvester during a campaign stop in the southern city of Rostov on Thursday, where workers taught the president how to operate a combine simulator.

"If worst comes to worst, I’ll go work as a combine operator after March 18," Putin was filmed saying at the wheel of a combine simulator by the Kremlin-funded RT news outlet.

"No problem at all," his instructor replied.

The latest state-run poll suggests that 69.9 percent of voters would vote for Putin if the elections took place this Sunday. The president’s nearest competitor, communist candidate Pavel Grudinin, polls at around 6 percent.

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