Russians vote in an election that holds little suspense

President Vladimir Putin looks set to extend his rule by six more years after he stifled dissent

Transcript

00:00 Polls have opened in Russia for a three-day presidential election that is

00:04 all but certain to extend President Vladimir Putin's rule by six more years.

00:11 Voters have until Sunday to cast their ballots in nearly 100,000 polling

00:18 stations across a Russia's 11 time zones. The elections hold little suspense since

00:24 Putin is running for his fifth term virtually unchallenged as Moscow's war

00:29 on Ukraine enters its third year. It takes place against the backdrop of a

00:37 ruthless crackdown that has crippled independent media and prominent rights

00:41 groups and given Putin full control of the political system. Putin faces no real

00:51 competition in the vote amid a clapdown on dissent in the country which has seen

00:55 opposition figures and rights groups imprisoned or exiled. The three other

01:00 candidates on the ballot are low-profile politicians from token opposition parties

01:04 that tow the Kremlin's line. Only registered candidates or state-backed

01:09 advisory bodies can assign observers to polling stations in what remains a

01:13 tightly controlled election.

01:17 you

01:19 (whooshing)