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

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

Vladimir Putin’s victory may be guaranteed and yet there are three other people whose names have been allowed on the ballot paper.

Let’s take a quick look at them.

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

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

Vladislav Davankov, 40, parliament deputy speaker.

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

Notable names missing from
the ballot include the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny,
as well as Ukraine war critics Boris
Nadezhdin (a veteran politician) and Yekaterina
Duntsova (a former TV journalist) who have been banned from running.

Image 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.