Here's an English version of the "Russian voters" report that our Current Time TV colleagues did and we flagged previously in Russian. They asked folks from various places and walks of life why they like the candidates they're going to vote for (or can't vote for, in Navalny's case).
Navalny Briefly Detained, Could Be Jailed Ahead Of Russian Election
By RFE/RL
Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny says he was briefly detained by police and accused of an administrative offense that could result in a 30-day jail term.
Navalny and a senior ally, Leonid Volkov, were both detained separately on February 22, weeks before a presidential election in which Navalny has been barred from challenging incumbent President Vladimir Putin.
The developments raised the prospect that Navalny and Volkov could be in jail during the March 18 election, which the vocal Putin foe is calling on Russians to boycott.
Navalny tweeted that he had gone to the dentist because "my tooth hurt," and that police approached him as he was leaving the dentist's office and told him, "You're detained."
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Authorities in Yekaterinburg seized all copies of a newspaper titled "Путинская правда" campaigning against Putin’s presidential candidacy.
Here's the Current Time TV article in Russian. There's a video report coming soon. Watch this space.
How It Was Done In The Past
Russian activists targeting vote fraud have assembled this revealing collection of clips from polling stations during the 2016 Duma elections, which the ruling United Russian party won handily according to official figures. For Russian speakers, the clips are interspersed with comments from Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin about how the people support United Russia and how there were no election violations.
U.S. Diplomats Won't Be Allowed To Monitor Russian Election
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says U.S. diplomats won't be allowed to observe voting during the presidential election. The reason? Ryabkov says Russian diplomats weren't accorded the same right during the 2016 presidential election in the United States.
Novaya Gazeta says the U.S. Embassy in Moscow has already been informed of the decision.
- By Andy Heil
This story by Current Time TV lists the several detentions of key Navalny people over the past month. They include -- in addition to Navalny himself and Volkov -- Roman Romanov, Kira Yarmysh and Ruslan Shaveddinov, and Moscow coordinator Sergei Boyko along with Nikolai Lyaskin.
- By Andy Heil
Navalny Freed, Says Case Launched
Navalny has been released after detention, he tweets, was served a protocol indicating a case against him has been launched. So a hearing to come, at some point. Says he declined their offer of a ride and "went to work." Also wonders why it took seven people to detain him.
- By Andy Heil
Here is barred candidate Navalny's tweet from minutes earlier, saying authorities had detained his senior aide, Leonid Volkov. He says Volkov was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport before a planned trip to Bashkortostan, which Navalny calls "one of the most important regions in terms of organizing election observation."
Volkov confirms his intended destination was Ufa:
Navalny's tweet announcing his detention.
"My tooth hurt, went to the dentist. Came out of the dentist's office - Hello, Second Operational Regiment, you're detained. Driving somewhere."