or first name, Alexei, on campaign

TsIOm, fewer than 30 percent of

is picture or first name, Alexei, on campaign posters in an apparent attempt to confuse voters.

In a central Moscow district — home to the Kremlin, parliament and many ministries — the ruling party appears to have no candidate.

But the opposition believes political novice Oleg Leonov — who runs a volunteer organisation that searches for missing people — has been put forward by United Russia. He denies such links.

Political veterans

Two of Putin’s highest-profile allies — Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, 66, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, 71 — head the candidates’ list for the ruling party.

Both have high approval ratings and their presence on the list aims to boost turnout.

According to state-run pollster VTsIOm, fewer than 30 percent of Russians say they are planning to vote for the ruling party, down from more than 40 percent in the last lower house polls in 2016.

Token opposition

In Russia’s tightly controlled political system only Kremlin-friendly token opposition candidates are allowed to run for parliament. Besides the ruling party, the other main forces in the rubber stamp parliament are the Communist Party, the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) and the left-leaning A Just Russia.

They are allowed to criticise the dominant party but all are expected to toe the Kremlin line and support Moscow’s policies, be it the pension age hike or constitutional amendments that allow Putin to extend his hold on power until 2036.