For the past year, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been criss-crossing Russia on a self-proclaimed presidential campaign against Vladimir Putin, who is seeking re-election in March after 18 years in power. Now, he is campaigning against the election itself.

After Mr Navalny was banned from running late last month, the rabble-rousing lawyer declared a boycott meant to expose the vote as a farce. It's a tactic that could worry the Kremlin after polls predicted a record low turnout in March, which would call into doubt Mr Putin's claims of overwhelming support for a fourth term.

Mr Navalny's network of campaign headquarters is planning to hold rallies for a “voter strike” in more than 90 cities on 28 January.

“The goal is to convince everyone that this isn't an election but a reappointment, to create low turnout and strike an additional blow to the legitimacy of the regime and Putin,” Mr Navalny told The Telegraph in an interview.

He claimed the 65-year-old president was seeking to remain in power as "tsar" for the rest of his life.