Putin opponent Alexei Navalny clears first step in bid for Russian presidency

Kremlin critic could enter the race – to be decided in March – if he gets special dispensation or his conviction is thrown out

Mr Navalny is the most formidable foe Mr Putin has faced during 18 years in power (AP)

Hundreds of supporters of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have nominated him for president, which would in theory allow him to challenge Vladimir Putin in the upcoming election.

However, Mr Navalny, the most formidable foe Mr Putin has faced during 18 years in power, is prohibited from seeking political office because of a criminal conviction that is largely viewed as retribution.

Despite this, he could enter the race – to be decided in March – if he gets special dispensation or the conviction is thrown out.

About 800 Navalny supporters assembled in a giant tent for the formal endorsement meeting held in Moscow‘s snow-covered Silver Forest. His allies said multiple meeting venues refused to host the gathering.

Election authorities observed the endorsement process. Mr Navalny’s representatives planned to file the nomination papers with the Russian Election Commission later on Sunday.

Outdoor endorsement gatherings also took place in 19 other cities, from Vladivostok to St Petersburg.

Several hundred people gathered on a central Moscow square to demonstrate support for his nomination.

Biologist Svetlana Sorokina, 41, said it was important to show the Kremlin “there are many people like us”.

A lawyer by training, Mr Navalny came to public prominence in 2009, when he began publishing investigations of corruption at Russia’s biggest state-controlled companies (AP)

Nearby, police officers warned the crowd through loudspeakers they were breaking the law and threatened to disperse the rally. Ms Sorokina said she was “a little bit scared”.

“I understand the danger. But I got prepared. I told my parents,” she said. “They expect me to call and say everything is OK.”

For Tatyana Komendant, 65, whether Mr Navalny would make a good president or not was secondary. What mattered was getting the Kremlin to allow an open race in which anyone interested who met the eligibility requirements would be allowed to run, she said.

“Any alternative is good. It would be better if Putin was to be replaced by anyone,” Ms Komendant said.

Russian law requires candidates to submit endorsements from just 500 people before they may start collecting the one million signatures needed to appear on the ballot. Mr Putin’s representatives are expected to file his nomination papers on Tuesday.

Election officials were expected to accept Mr Navalny’s paperwork on Sunday, but it is highly unlikely they will allow him to proceed to the signature-gathering stage.

Polling agencies show Mr Putin all but certain to win the March election. Polls show him with an 80 per cent approval rating among Russian citizens. But Mr Navalny has managed to galvanise some of the vast country’s sleepiest regions with a year-long grassroots campaign.

“We have seen for ourselves this year that overwhelming support for authorities simply isn’t there,” Mr Navalny said during an American-style campaign speech at the nomination meeting, where he was flanked by his wife and children.

He reiterated he was confident he would win the presidential election if he were allowed to run. He called on his supporters to boycott the vote, if election authorities refuse to register him.

A lawyer by training, Mr Navalny came to public prominence in 2009, when he began publishing investigations of corruption at Russia‘s biggest state-controlled companies. He spearheaded massive anti-government protests in 2011-2012 in reaction to widespread fraud during the parliamentary election.

Mr Navalny came under pressure from authorities as he gained popularity. He faced countless detentions for staging protests and spent months under house arrest while being investigated for fraud. He was convicted on two sets of unrelated fraud charges. His brother was sent to prison in what was seen as political revenge.

In his only formal election campaign, he got nearly 30 per cent of the vote when he ran for Moscow mayor in 2013.

AP