Money doesn't buy Putin love in Vladivostok It is the recipient of a $20 billion facelift programme to build spectacular new bridges, modern highways and prepare the city for a prestigious global summit. But don't expect all residents of Russia's Trans-Siberian railway terminus city of Vladivostok on the Pacific to thank Russian strongman Vladimir Putin as he seeks to return to the presidency in March 4 elections. "We are tired of Putin after all these years," Vladivostok resident Andrei Yukhtanov, 42, said angrily as he left the train station on his commute to work as a barman in the centre. Russia has pumped billions of dollars into reviving the Far Eastern port city, which fell into neglect in the years after the USSR's fall with buildings crumbling to the point of collapse and highways riddled with pot holes. But many locals say they have seen nothing but empty promises from Putin and his party United Russia, which is regarded with particular suspicion as defending the interests of the elite in Moscow seven time zones away. Vladivostok's Primorye region gave his party United Russia only 33 percent in the parliamentary polls on December 4, one of its weakest scores nationwide. The 600,000 residents of Vladivostok gave it even lower support of about 23 percent of the vote, trailing behind the Communist Party. This is despite the facelift ahead of the city's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in September which includes the building of two gigantic bridges the authorities hope will prompt comparisons with San Francisco and Istanbul. Everything is rising! Prices on food, heating, gasoline," said 72-year-old Nikolai, a critic of United Russia who has been disillusioned after being a party member for eight years. Like many other residents of Russia's largest Pacific Ocean city, he complained that the cost of living has become higher than in Moscow, while salaries remain low. "In the Soviet times, more was done for the people," he said, pledging to vote for Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov. "Almost nobody in my circle voted for United Russia in the parliamentary elections," said Valeria Loiko, a reporter for weekly newspaper Konkurent, calling it "the party of crooks and thieves." Vladivostok enjoyed a high profile in the Soviet era as Russia's naval capital, an exclusive and well-supplied city that was closed to foreigners before 1991. But with the disintegration of many military industries, the quality of life fell along with its population, and the economy began to rely on imports from China and Japan. Putin was the driving force behind Vladivostok's plans to host the APEC conference this September, a first for Russia, promising to breathe new life into the city. One of the bridges, designed to be similar to California's Golden Gate bridge, will reach over the Eastern Bosphorus strait to the former military base on Russky island, where the summit will be held. Since 2007, the city has become a vast construction site, but residents say they have not seen the benefits despite investment of $20 billion into its development. Konstantin Mezhonov, a regional leader of the Just Russia party, said the unpopularity of United Russia has to do with "promises that were not fulfilled during 10 years," namely rising inflation and high cost of public services. "It is time that Putin steps down and lets someone new take the reins," said Anatoly Yakovlev, a 64-year-old professor who voted for the strongman both times he ran for president in 2000 and 2004. Although most Russians are convinced that Putin will once again seize the presidential seat, Yakovlev is considering casting his vote for the newcomer billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov who currently only has a single-figure rating. "Many people support him because he is new to politics," he said.