Polling stations have been opened across Russia, kick starting the 2024 presidential election, in which president Vladimir Putin faces three opponents.
The voting is set to take place for three days through Sunday.
Incumbent Vladimir Putin, who is running as an independent candidate is up against the head of the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) Leonid Slutsky, Communist candidate Nikolay Kharitonov, and Vladislav Davankov, representing the liberal centrist New People.
This will be the first presidential election in Russia following a 2020 constitutional reform, which established a limit of two six-year terms for any one person serving as head of state.
Apart from voting at polling stations in person, residents of some 28 regions are able to cast their ballots online through the country’s electronic voting system.