Vladimir Putin's party was heading, Sunday, September 19, towards a legislative victory in Russia, for lack of real opposition after the liquidation of Alexeï Navalny's movement and the blocking of his voting instructions by digital giants under pressure.

The three-day poll, from Friday to Sunday, is expected to be won by the ruling United Russia party, despite its unpopularity, after months of repression that have severely weakened detractors of Vladimir Putin.

Anti-corruption activist and main opponent of the Kremlin, Alexei Navalny, 45, was jailed in January for a fraud case he considers political.

Its organizations were banned for "extremism" before the poll and many of its cadres fled the country for fear of prosecution.

The vote aims to renew the 450 terms of deputies of the Duma, the lower house of Parliament, currently dominated by United Russia.

Local and regional elections also take place.

"Imitation of elections"

"It's an imitation of elections and it's sad," said Andrei, a 33-year-old computer scientist voting Sunday in Moscow.

Asked by AFP, he said he had followed the instructions of Alexeï Navalny's team but refused to give his name for fear of reprisals.

As almost no anti-Putin candidate has been allowed to run, supporters of Alexei Navalny have devised a "smart vote" strategy designed to support the candidates - often Communists - best placed to hamper those in power.

"I gave my voice to the Communists so that it does not go to United Russia," said Alexander Korolkov, 61, a Moscow worker who says he "never" voted for Putin.

However, he did not consult the candidates proposed by the "intelligent vote", "something young" which "does not really work" according to him.

Imprisoned, Alexeï Navalny once again called to follow his instructions.

"Your voice really matters," he wrote in a social media post Sunday.

To counter this plan, the Russian authorities have exerted unprecedented pressure in recent weeks on the Internet giants whose platforms were used to disseminate instructions, succeeding in bending Google and Apple. 

The latter agreed on Friday to remove the "smart vote" mobile application from their store, Navalny's allies immediately accusing the two American firms of "giving in to blackmail".

Google has also blocked two lists in Russia containing these guidelines and published on Google Docs, its word processing service, and two videos on YouTube - which it owns.

Alexei Navalny's team reacted by giving instructions on Twitter to download a virtual private network (VPN) to avoid blockages.

According to close sources interviewed by AFP, Google and Apple have obeyed Moscow for fear of arrests of their employees in Russia.

Over 3,800 potential irregularities

Some 108 million Russians are being called to the polls, with the last offices closing at 6 p.m. GMT on Sunday.

The first estimates are expected soon after.

At 11:30 a.m. GMT, parliamentary turnout exceeded 40% according to the Electoral Commission.

Its president, Ella Pamfilova, reported "eight cases of ballot box stuffing" in the country.

But according to the specialist NGO Golos, more than 3,850 possible irregularities have been reported since the start of the vote, including ballot stuffing and pressure to vote.

In the absence of effective competition, United Russia should win despite a popularity rating of less than 30%, according to the state polling center VTsIOM. 

The other parties represented in the Duma - communists, nationalists and centrists - generally follow the line of President Putin, who remains popular.

With AFP

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