Russian police searches through Navalni offices

moscow - A day before the presidential election, the Russian police on Saturday in several cities raids in offices of the opposition movement of Aleksej Navalni and other opposition parties.

An unknown number of people were arrested at the raids. A number of young members of Navalni's party were arrested in St. Petersburg. They had announced that they would serve as observers on behalf of their leader in the elections.

Navalni called for a boycott of the ballot box at the end of January. He can not take part in the presidential election because he has a criminal record after a dubious conviction for fraud. According to him, the election is a card.

It is expected that current President Vladimir Putin will be re-elected by a large majority.