Putin's opponents
Besides Putin, the anticipated winner of the election who was trusted by 85 percent of Russians, the candidates were Nikolay Kharitonov from the Communist Party, Leonid Slutsky from the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, and Vladislav Davankov from the New People Party. The three candidates' campaigns mainly included domestic policy improvements in social welfare, small business support, and the utilities sector. Putin's program focused on state sovereignty, security, defense, citizen rights, and technological independence.In the months preceding the election, Boris Nadezhdin, a former State Duma member who campaigned against the war in Ukraine, was the main opponent of Putin; however, he was disqualified in February after more than five percent of his submitted signatures were declared invalid, together with several other candidates. Russia's most famous opposition politician, Alexei Navalny, died in prison in February 2024 while serving his 19-year sentence for alleged extremism activity and fraud.