Putin tightens grip; thousands protest

RUSSIA PRESIDENT VLADIMIR Putin is poised to tighten his grip on power on Sunday in a Russian election that is certain to deliver him a landslide victory, though some opponents staged a symbolic noon protest at polling stations against his rule.

- GUY FAULCONBRIDGE ANDREW OSBORN

Putin, who rose to power in 1999, is poised to win a new six-year term that, if he completes it, would enable him to overtake Josef Stalin and become Russia's longest-serving leader for more than 200 years.

The election comes just over two years since Putin triggered the deadliest European conflict since World War II by ordering the invasion of Ukraine. He casts it as a "special military operation".

Ukraine has repeatedly attacked oil refineries in Russia, shelled Russian regions and sought to pierce Russian borders with proxy forces-a move Putin said would not be left unpunished.