The polls suggest a landslide for the incumbent, but the past few weeks have provided many storylines regarding his rivals.

Mario Canseco

With less than four weeks remaining before the presidential election in Russia, Vladimir Putin has decided to sack prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov. Today's announcement marks the first time the current Russian president has changed the head of government during his four-year term.

Kasyanov's dismissal is not expected to significantly alter the race. The latest polls from ROMIR, Analytic, and the Public Opinion Foundation suggest Putin will be the victor in a landslide on Mar. 14. No survey places voting intention for the incumbent below 70 per cent, while his challengers are all in single digits.

Russian voters renewed their State Duma this past December, in a vote deemed "overwhelmingly distorted" by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The pro-Kremlin United Russia party garnered 222 seats in the 450-member legislative branch, a result aided—according to the OSCE—by the "enormous advantage of incumbency."

The wave of support for the president has not made this an incident-free campaign. Two prospective candidates that were meant to represent the private sector—pharmaceutical multimillionaire Vladimir Bryntsalov and businessman Anzori Aksentyev-Kikalishvili—withdrew from the contest in January. Later that same month, Viktor Gerashchenko was declared ineligible because he was supposedly backed by a bloc, and not a registered political party.

In the end, six candidates are still challenging Putin, including Federation Council speaker Sergei Mironov, who openly supports the president's re-election. The remaining contenders have made headlines for a variety of reasons.

The mysterious disappearance of former secretary of the Russian Security Council Ivan Rybkin left many unanswered questions. The opposition candidate first said on Feb. 10 that he had made a quick visit to Ukraine without telling family members of campaign staff. Three days later, he offered a different version, alleging that he was drugged and held against his will during his visit to Kiev, where he was supposed to meet with Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov for peace talks.

Rybkin has refused to offer more explanations, and has vowed to remain in Britain for the rest of the campaign. His suggestion to participate in debates "via satellite" from London was rejected.

This month, a grievance filed to the Central Election Commission by Irina Khakamada of the Union of Right Forces (SPS) and Nikolai Kharitonov of the Communist Party (KPRF) was summarily dismissed. The candidates stressed that since state broadcaster Rossia showed a campaign address by Putin to a nationwide audience on Feb. 12, they both should receive the same treatment under existing regulations.

The other candidates are facing problems as well. A rift among Rodina factions has split the coalition between supporters of presidential candidate Sergei Glazyev, and those who back Putin. Oleg Malyshkin was nominated by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) after leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky declined not to take part, citing the need for his political organization to shed the label of "one-man party." Malyshkin, described as a "former bodyguard," has been accompanied by Zhirinovsky in several campaign acts.

Khakamada, the lone female candidate, has hinted at withdrawing from the race, claiming media coverage is biased. The conservative politician also failed in her bid to hold two public gatherings in Moscow, after local authorities refused to grant her the necessary permits.

The dominating presence of Putin, who has decided not to attend the television debates, continues to affect how voters view the remaining political choices. When asked what candidate they would support if the current president were not running, 51 per cent of respondents to a ROMIR poll chose to abstain.

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