Early voting has begun in some areas of Russia ahead of the upcoming presidential election, according to state news agency TASS.
“Early voting in hard-to-reach and remote areas for the Russian presidential elections began in the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District,” TASS reported, citing regional election commissions.
Approximately 70,000 people will be able to vote early in the district, according to TASS.
The early voting begins just after the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and amid controversy surrounding the death of Vladimir Putin’s long-time opponent Alexey Navalny, who had been incarcerated since returning to Russia in 2021.
Voting in the presidential election is scheduled to take place from March 15 to 17. It will be the first three-day presidential election in the history of the Russian Federation, according to TASS.