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Russia is voting today for the election of the president, while the current president Vladimir Putin is the main favorite.
It was at a grand military awards ceremony last December that Vladimir Putin told the Russian public that he would run for the presidency for his fifth term.
Voting will last three days, although the result is not in doubt as no potential opponent is running against Putin.
Polling stations opened on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia's easternmost region, at 08:00 local time on Friday and will finally close in the westernmost enclave of Kaliningrad at 20:00 on Sunday.
At the solemn event last December in one of the Kremlin's richest halls, the Russian leader of 24 years had just handed out top honors to soldiers who had taken part in Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine.
He was talking to a small group of participants when the commander of a pro-Russian unit in Ukraine's occupied Donetsk region approached him.
"We need you, Russia needs you!" declared lieutenant colonel Artyom Zhoga, asking him to run as a candidate in the upcoming presidential elections of Russia. Everyone expressed their support.
Vladimir Putin nodded: “Now is the time to make decisions. I will run for the post of president of the Russian Federation".
His spokesman Dmitry Peskov later described the decision to run as "absolutely spontaneous". But the Kremlin rarely leaves its "choreography" to chance.
Instead, her media machine immediately swung into action.
On all state channels, 71-year-old President Putin was promoted as a national leader who stood above any potential rival.
"Support for the president goes beyond just party support," a correspondent reported on state television news later that week. "Vladimir Putin is the people's candidate!"
He has already been in power in Russia longer than any ruler since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.
He has been president since 2000, except for four years as prime minister due to a two-term limit imposed by the Russian constitution.
He has since "changed the rules" to give himself a clean slate to run again in 2024 by "resetting to zero" his previous terms. This means he can run for another six-year term in 2030, when he will be 78 years old.
During his time in office, Vladimir Putin has methodically strengthened his grip on power, so no real threat to his rule exists anymore.
His most outspoken critics are either dead, in prison or in exile.
However, the Kremlin remains determined to lend some semblance of legitimacy to Russia's election process.
But there can be no doubt about the final outcome of the election, the authorities seem to care a lot about a high turnout, which will be presented as evidence of his popular mandate.
Turnout in the last election in 2018 was officially 68%, but international observers reported several cases of manipulation.
This year voting will be easier than ever before, ending on Sunday.
In parts of occupied Ukraine that Russia calls its "new regions," polling stations opened 10 days before election day and social media has been awash with ads urging people to go vote.
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