Posters were seen hanging around the dormitory at the joint venture displaying election time and candidates’ photos and biographies.
A ballot box was put in the hall of a local school, meant for Russian students only, where snacks and drinks were also available to the voters.
The voting was conducted this morning in a quiet and relaxed manner, your correspondent reported.
Sokolov Uyriy, chairman of the polling station, told Tuoi Tre that Russians take it pretty easy as they see the presidential election somewhat as a festival.
Uyriy said the polling results would be sent to the Russian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City and all the ballots would be archived in five years.
He thanked the province and other local authorities for supporting the balloting.
Provincial foreign affairs authorities say there are over 1,000 Russian voters living and working in the province, 950 of whom work at Vietsovpetro which was established for oil and gas exploration.
The voting will conclude at 8:00 pm today.
Manay polling stations had been set up at Russian embassies and consulates general in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City.
Mobile ballot boxes were also available in other provinces where there are many Russian nationals.
The results of the voting at these stations will be faxed or sent over the Internet back to Russia, the country’s current election rules stipulate.
Five candidates – Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party head Vladimir Zhirinovsky, A Just Russia Party leader Sergei Mironov and the only independent, billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov – are running in the March 4 vote.
The winner, to be inaugurated as new president in May, will serve a six-year term instead of four years as before.
The last major opinion polls before the election showed Putin, who ruled as president from 2000 to 2008 and then as prime minister, was likely to win 59-66 percent of the vote.
Below are some photos of the voting in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province:
A Russian national (R) has his passport and name checked before receiving his ballot.
A Russian voter is reading biographies of five presidential candidates.
A Russian woman casts her vote.