Russia's national elections commission has officially registered the first two candidates to challenge President Vladimir Putin in the upcoming March election. Leonid Slutsky of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party and Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party have been approved to appear on the ballot for the March 15-17 vote. However, neither candidate poses a significant threat to Putin's dominance in Russian politics. Both candidates and their respective parties generally support legislation backed by Putin's United Russia party.

Slutsky, the head of the lower house of parliament's foreign affairs committee, has been a prominent supporter of the Kremlin's increasingly confrontational foreign policy. In the 2018 presidential election, the Liberal Democratic Party's candidate received less than 6 percent of the vote. Davankov, a deputy speaker of the Duma, represents the New People Party, established in 2020 with 15 seats in the 450-member Duma.

The Communist Party has nominated Nikolai Kharitonov as its candidate, but the elections commission has not yet formally registered him. Kharitonov previously ran in 2004, finishing second to Putin. Notably, a candidate advocating for peace in Ukraine was rejected from the presidential ballot last month, with the commission citing paperwork errors. Putin, running as an independent, is all but certain to secure victory in the election, with support from United Russia and the People's Front coalition. Independent candidates like Putin must gather significant support, including 500 nominations and at least 300,000 signatures from 40 regions or more, according to Russian law.

Russia's national elections commission has officially registered the first two candidates to challenge President Vladimir Putin in the upcoming March election. Leonid Slutsky of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party and Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party have been approved to appear on the ballot for the March 15-17 vote. However, neither candidate poses a significant threat to Putin's dominance in Russian politics. Both candidates and their respective parties generally support legislation backed by Putin's United Russia party.

Slutsky, the head of the lower house of parliament's foreign affairs committee, has been a prominent supporter of the Kremlin's increasingly confrontational foreign policy. In the 2018 presidential election, the Liberal Democratic Party's candidate received less than 6 percent of the vote. Davankov, a deputy speaker of the Duma, represents the New People Party, established in 2020 with 15 seats in the 450-member Duma.

The Communist Party has nominated Nikolai Kharitonov as its candidate, but the elections commission has not yet formally registered him. Kharitonov previously ran in 2004, finishing second to Putin. Notably, a candidate advocating for peace in Ukraine was rejected from the presidential ballot last month, with the commission citing paperwork errors. Putin, running as an independent, is all but certain to secure victory in the election, with support from United Russia and the People's Front coalition. Independent candidates like Putin must gather significant support, including 500 nominations and at least 300,000 signatures from 40 regions or more, according to Russian law.