In power as president or prime minister since the final day of 1999, Putin has quashed all forms of opposition and dissent, exerting a level of domestic control that ensures the result is in no doubt.Victory in the March 15-17 contest will allow him to stay in the Kremlin until at least 2030, longer than any Russian leader since Catherine the Great in the eighteenth century.The poll comes at a time of high confidence for the former KGB agent.
In 2018, official results showed he got 77.5 percent of the vote.Even with no real competition, that contest was marred by widespread accusations of ballot-stuffing, fraud and forced voting.This year Putin will officially face three other contenders -- Kremlin-approved candidates designed to give a facade of competition.Anti-Putin politician Boris Nadezhdin was blocked from standing after tens of thousands of Russians backed his surprise bid to run on a pro-peace message.