President Vladimir Putin is poised to tighten his grip on power on Sunday in a Russian election that is certain to deliver him a landslide victory, Reuters reported
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However, thousands of opponents staged a symbolic noon protest at polling stations
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Putin, who rose to power in 1999, is set to win a new six-year term that would enable him to overtake Josef Stalin and become Russia's longest-serving leader for more than 200 years
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The main opposition figure, Aleksei A. Navalny, a harsh critic of Mr Putin and the Ukraine war, died in an Arctic prison last month
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The vote is significant for Mr Putin as a way to cement his legitimacy and refurbish his preferred image as the embodiment of security and stability
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The election comes just over two years since Putin triggered the deadliest European conflict since World War Two by ordering the invasion of Ukraine
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The Kremlin habitually ensures that Mr. Putin faces no real competition
Image: Reuters
The Kremlin habitually ensures that Mr. Putin faces no real competition
Image: Reuters
Two important changes this time could add to the vote's opacity, New York Times reported
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For one, balloting will be held in the so-called “new territories,” the four Ukrainian regions Moscow annexed without fully controlling them
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The ability to vote online will be more widely available, with electronic voters in 29 regions on one huge list