Russia elections: Protesters arrested on final day of vote set to give Vladimir Putin fifth term

[Pelican Press 0]

Russia elections: Protesters arrested on final day of vote set to give Vladimir ****** fifth term

RUSSIAN ********** PARTYCopyright: RUSSIAN ********** PARTY

Nikolai Kharitonov is portrayed in a campaign video walking to his imagined new job in the KremlinImage caption: Nikolai Kharitonov is portrayed in a campaign video walking to his imagined new job in the Kremlin

A Vladimir ****** victory is guaranteed, most likely by a landslide, and yet there are three other names on the ballot paper.

None of the three is considered credible, so who are they?

Nikolai Kharitonov, 75,is the official candidate of the ********** Party. When the BBC’s Steve Rosenberg met him a few days ago, he had more praise for ****** than himself.

Leonid Slutsky, 56, is the leader of the nationalist ******** Democratic Party of Russia. He is a regular on Russian state TV where he voices anti-Western views.

Vladislav Davankov, 40, is parliament deputy speaker and has refused to criticise the other candidates.

Despite their vastly different political standings, all three broadly back the Kremlin’s policies.

Notable names missing from
the ballot include Ukraine war critics Boris
Nadezhdin (a veteran politician) and Yekaterina
Duntsova (a former TV journalist) who have been banned from running.

REUTERS/MAXIM SHEMETOVCopyright: REUTERS/MAXIM SHEMETOV

Boris Nadezhdin was barred from running more than a month before the electionImage caption: Boris Nadezhdin was barred from running more than a month before the election

Local Moscow councillor Boris Nadezhdin announced his candidacy last year, generating a rare moment of optimism for opposition-minded voters.

He was a frequent guest on talk shows on state TV and had been relatively critical of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

But in a country where many have been jailed for speaking out against the war, he would never make the ballot paper.

The most prominent Kremlin critic, Alexei Navalny, ***** in an Arctic penal colony last month and his supporters say he was murdered.

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