LIVE: Voting in Russian presidential election begins

Russians have begun voting in a rubber-stamp election that will extend President Putin’s rule to three decades, rivalling that of Joseph Stalin. Votes are being cast in the election across 11 time zones between March 15 and 17, a month after Putin’s main political opponent, Alexei Navalny, 47, died in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a lengthy sentence on bogus fraud and extremism charges. Three other candidates are running in the election but have no chance of winning, with analysts saying they are on the ballot only to give the process a veneer of legitimacy. READ MORE: Read the best of our journalism: Subscribe to The Times and The Sunday Times YouTube channel: Find us on Facebook: Find us on Twitter: Find us on Instagram: #russia #livestream #election