Russians Head to Polls amid Low Appoval for Putin's United Russia, App of Alexei Navalny Removed

Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged Russians to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections after a lacklustre campaign season.

Polls opened on Friday morning for the three-day election and the first day of the vote was marred by controversy with allies of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny accusing Google and Apple of removing their "smart voting" app from their platforms.

Putin's United Russia party is expected to comfortably hold its dominance over the State Duma, where it currently holds a two-thirds majority.

After months of official moves to shut down any significant opposition, there are official concerns that low turnout could damage the ruling party's prestige.

In an eleventh-hour video message on Thursday, Putin appealed to voters: "The election of the new parliament is, without doubt, the most important event in the life of our society and our country.

"We are all equally interested in responsible, efficient and respected people being elected... I count on your responsible, well-considered, patriotic, civic position."

The landscape of this weekend's vote

The Kremlin wants to retain control over the new parliament as it will still be in place in 2024 when Putin's current term expires.

The long-standing Russian premier will then have to decide on running for re-election or choosing some other strategy to stay in power.

This year 14 parties are fielding candidates for half of the 450 seats in the Russian legislature's lower house. But the three parties - aside from United Russia - that are expected to gain the 5 per cent of support necessary to get a seat rarely challenge the Kremlin.

The other half of the seats are chosen in individual constituencies, where...