By Almaz Kumenov for Eurasianet Russian President Vladimir Putin has suffered a crushing election defeat. In Almaty, that is. Elsewhere in Central Asia, where many thousands of Russian citizenship-holders cast their ballot in the presidential elections over the weekend, he performed far more strongly. An independent exit poll conducted in Kazakhstan’s business capital surveyed around 1,600 people at a polling station in the consulate and found that only 8% declared they had voted for Putin. Vladislav Davankov, a foil candidate nominated by the New People party, garnered around 70% of the votes…