Meet Russia’s presidential candidates. By all accounts, the winner of this debate was the one contender who didn’t show up: Vladimir Putin. Experts say it’s part of an elaborate charade, an election where the lead candidate couldn’t be bothered to campaign, the field of competitors is stacked with sure losers, and the outcome is known in advance. After 18 years in power, Putin remains popular in Russia among voters who see him as a strong leader. His real challenge is not winning the race, but getting enough turnout to show the world his victory is legitimate. Official state polls showed Putin expected to get about 70 percent of the vote. His main rival was Aleksei Navalny, Russia’s most outspoken and well-organized opposition figure. But Navalny was barred from running after a series of court cases widely considered manufactured. Among the other seven remaining candidates — ranging from an ultranationalist firebrand to a reality television star turned journalist — none had more than 10 percent support in official polls. Here’s Putin at a campaign rally. What’s notable is that it was his only rally. Russia experts say Putin has been surprisingly absent from his own campaign. A no-show at the presidential debates, he never put out a formal policy platform, and Putin didn’t even do any filming for his campaign ads. Instead, producers reportedly had recycled old photos. There were calls for voters to boycott the election from Putin critics, including Aleksei Navalny, the candidate barred from running. But regardless, analysts say voters — pro- or anti-Putin — are not motivated to get out to the polls. Expected turnout is far below the Kremlin target of 70 percent. To help entice voters, officials and supporters have rolled out an elaborate campaign. There are regional governments promoting ballot selfie contests, raffling iPhones, and selling discounted goods at polling stations. On social media, an anonymously produced video campaign has gone viral: a series of slick vignettes preying on conservative fears about the threat of not voting. In one, video a man wakes up in a country where families have to adopt gay people. While the winner might not be in doubt, there’s much speculation about 2024. Current term limits could make this Putin’s last run for president. And the brutal battle over who or what comes next is expected to be the real contest.