NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia — With the hours slipping away until Russia’s presidential election on Sunday, Valentina A. Aristova, a Communist Party die-hard in the northern city of Nizhny Novgorod, rose before sunrise to hand out campaign literature at a Volga River shipyard.

Bundled in a dark fur coat and hat, Mrs. Aristova, a matronly English teacher, reflected on the two twists in what is expected to be a romp by President Vladimir V. Putin to a fourth presidential term.

First, support for Mr. Putin in large cities has been uneven or even declining in favor of Pavel Grudinin, a wealthy farmer turned Communist Party candidate, despite state television coverage of Mr. Putin bordering on a personality cult.

“People come home, they turn on the TV and they are told who is the most important person, who is the best person,” said Mrs. Aristova, who has worked on Communist Party campaigns for 27 years.