Russia holds regional elections Riot police officers block demonstrators during an opposition protest in St. Petersburg, Russia Recent opposition demonstrations have been violently broken up Some 30 million registered voters are heading to the polls in Russia's regional elections, widely considered a rehearsal for a parliamentary vote.
The ballots are seen as the first in a year of elections organised to ensure that the president retains control.
Vladimir Putin is expected to step down in 2008 but he has hinted he will choose the person who will replace him.
The elections have been marred by accusations that opposition parties are being deliberately marginalised.
Opposition rally
Voters face a choice of two mainstream parties and a number of smaller ones in the elections in 14 of the country's 86 regions.
But analysts say that the Kremlin-backed United Russia party will almost certainly win.
St Petersburg is one of the regions where elections will be held.
A large opposition rally in the city to protest that many parties were blocked from the ballot was violently broken up by police this week.
One of Russia's leading liberal political parties, Yabloko, was among the parties banned from the elections there.
The city's electoral commission said too many signatures supporting the party's candidates had been invalid.
But Yabloko said the commission's decision was an attempt to muzzle the voice of the opposition to the pro-Kremlin municipal council.
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