It is an election played in advance, but which represents a test for Vladimir Putin.
The Russians began voting on Friday, September 17 in the parliamentary elections, with the opening of the first polling stations in the Far East, a ballot from which most of the Kremlin critics have been banned and which is expected to be won by the party United Russia.
Russia being extended over eleven time zones, the kickoff of these elections, which will take place from September 17 to 19, in order to limit the epidemic risk, was given in the regions of Kamchatka and Choukotka, in the Extreme East, at 8 a.m. local time (8 p.m. GMT Thursday).
"We will do everything to ensure that the electoral process takes place in an open and transparent manner," assured Inga Irinina, head of the local electoral commission in Petropavlovsk-Kamtchatsky, capital of the Kamtchatka peninsula, during a meeting of videoconference with the Central Election Commission.
02:53
A few hours before the start of the poll, President Vladimir Putin called on the Russians to show "responsibility, balance and patriotism", in a video posted on the Kremlin website on the night of Wednesday to Thursday.
He made this appeal while he is in isolation due to dozens of Covid-19 cases identified in his entourage, illustrating the difficulties of Moscow in stemming the epidemic against the backdrop of a sluggish vaccination campaign.
His spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, considered it possible that Vladimir Putin would use the online voting system instead of going to the polls, due to his quarantine.
The three-day Russian electoral marathon includes legislative elections, but also dozens of regional and local elections.
The first results are expected after 6 p.m. GMT on Sunday.
"Smart vote"
Most of the opposition was banned from the ballot, the culmination of months of repression that began with the arrest of its leading figure, Alexeï Navalny, when he returned to Russia in January after a poisoning of which he accuses the Kremlin.
His entire movement has since been banned for "extremism" and many of its prominent allies have been forced into exile, placed under house arrest or barred from candidacy.
On Thursday, the powerful Russian Investigation Committee said it was opening an investigation against eleven people, whom it will seek imprisonment, accused of having called on the encrypted Telegram messaging system for "mass unrest" during the elections.
Some 108 million Russians are being called to the polls to elect the 450 deputies of the Duma, the lower house of Parliament.
Half are appointed by proportional list system, the other half by first past the post.
Alexeï Navalny called from his prison on his supporters to vote "smart", supporting the candidates - often Communists - best placed to put in difficulty the party in power, United Russia.
Unpopular, against a backdrop of corruption scandals and declining living standards, United Russia has less than 30% favorable opinions according to polls.
But training should nevertheless prevail, for lack of real competition, the other parties represented in the Duma - communists, nationalists and centrists - being on the whole in line with the Kremlin.
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THE DEBATE - Navalny affair: Putin's twilight?
Vladimir Putin, in power for more than twenty years, also campaigned for his training in his own way, notably by announcing exceptional financial assistance for 42 million retirees, a key electorate.
The Russian authorities have also stepped up efforts to limit the impact of "smart voting", described as "extremist" and illustrative of Western interference in the elections.
Moscow criticizes in particular the Internet giants for refusing to remove content deemed illegal.
Russian diplomacy last week expressed its anger to the American ambassador on this subject.
Twitter, Facebook and Telegram have been repeatedly condemned in recent months for their refusal to delete publications.
With AFP
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