MOSCOW — MOSCOW’S mayoral election may seem like just another Russian election. The incumbent, Sergei S. Sobyanin, a loyal ally of President Vladimir V. Putin, is projected to win by a wide margin. His only real challenger stands practically no chance.

Still, the Moscow campaign is a big deal. The challenger is Aleksei A. Navalny, 37, an anti-corruption activist turned politician. In July, many in Russia watched in disbelief as this harsh critic of Mr. Putin was cleared by the Kremlin to take part in the race. Now Muscovites are watching with amusement as their city is transformed into a lively political stage, the likes of which Russia has never seen before. Mr. Navalny’s campaign has scattered kiosks all around Moscow in which workers distribute campaign literature and stickers. Mr. Navalny himself comes to mix with voters at these “cubes” or at Metro stations far from central Moscow. Thousands of unpaid volunteers, managed through a special Web site, have been passing out leaflets in the streets, and the campaign raises funds openly.

All of these techniques are new to Russians, and seem surreal in contrast with the top-down, financially murky way Russia has conducted its political business until now. Even if the outcome of this race is not in doubt, Mr. Navalny’s novel tactics have encouraged Russians in the street to speak candidly with his campaign workers, giving the feel of a genuine democratic contest.

For the 14 years of his rule, Mr. Putin has been taking the Russian political process in an unmistakably authoritarian direction — filtering out the opposition, entrenching insiders in key public offices, making election results as predictable as possible.