Putin poised for six more years after election with no real choices

His fiercest political foe, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison last month and other critics are either in jail or in exile

A man is reflected in a mirror as he casts a ballot at a polling station during the presidential elections in St Petersburg, Russia (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to extend nearly a quarter century of rule for six more years after wrapping up an election that gave voters no real alternatives to an autocrat who has ruthlessly cracked down on dissent.

The three-day election that began on Friday has taken place in a tightly controlled environment where no public criticism of Mr Putin or his war in Ukraine is allowed.