Over the course of less than a year, several opposition figures have announced they will boycott elections slated for October 7. But those observers who believe these politicians will actually participate in them have a good reason to be confident: even though the boycott is limited in scope, it will have a powerful effect.Russian government officials and state media have been practically euphoric about the prospect of elections this month. “In Moscow we are ready,” Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev declared on May 2. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said that he expected the presidential and parliamentary votes to go “fine” as well