MOSCOW: Russians began voting in regional elections Sunday that Kremlin-loyal candidates are set to dominate, as police detained dozens of supporters of a jailed opposition leader who called for protests over pension reforms. But discontent is unlikely to translate into upsets at the ballot box, with serious opposition candidates in the highest-profile Moscow mayoral vote barred from standing. Around 50 supporters of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is serving a month-long jail term over an earlier illegal protest, were detained ahead of the rallies, according to independent monitor OVD-Info. Despite being behind bars, the opposition leader is continuing to make his presence felt. Google removed advertisements for the rally at the request of the Russian authorities, a close aide of the opposition leader said at the weekend.

Source: Bangkok Post September 09, 2018 09:33 UTC