Putin to tighten grip on Russia as opponents pose election day challenge

President Vladimir Putin will seek to tighten his grip on power on Sunday in a Russian election that is certain to deliver him a landslide victory though opponents called on people to stage a symbolic protest against his rule at polling stations.
Putin, who rose to power in 1999, is poised to win a new six-year term that, if he completes it, would make him Russia’s longest-serving leader for more than 200 years.
The election comes just over two years since Putin triggered the deadliest European conflict since World War Two by ordering the invasion of Ukraine in what he casts as a defensive “special military operation”.
Putin, 71, has warned the West that any meddling in the vote will be considered an act of aggression. While his re-election is not in doubt given a lack of any significant rival candidate he wants to show that he has the overwhelming support of Russians.