By Maria Golovnina
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian liberals accused the Kremlin onSaturday of turning this weekend's presidential election into"a farce" to ensure a landslide victory for Vladimir Putin'shandpicked candidate.
Campaigning was banned on the eve of the vote - theofficial "day of silence" - following weeks of a dull campaignthat has sparked little emotion among Russia's 109 millionvoters.
But the liberal opposition made a final protest over thevote which is expected to be a shoo-in for First Deputy PrimeMinister Dmitry Medvedev, 42, who enjoys Putin's endorsementand thus blanket media coverage.
Putin has presided over Russia's longest economic boom in ageneration and many people see partnership between Medvedev andPutin as a way of preserving stability.
Putin's critics -- not only liberals but also thevociferous communists -- accuse the Kremlin of harassing rivalsand forcing millions of state workers to vote or risk losingtheir jobs.
Most Western observers have refused to monitor the vote,citing lack of cooperation from the authorities.
Former world chess champion and opposition leader GarryKasparov and his allies submitted a petition to the centralelection commission describing the election as a "farce".
"It's very important that there are still people around whobelieve that this election is a farce," Nikita Belykh, anopposition leader, told reporters.
Kasparov, speaking alongside him, added: "We know perfectlywell we can't change anything. But there are things we mustdo."
Security was tight across the world's biggest country onthe eve of the election. The government deployed 450,000 policeand troops to guard polling stations. Traffic was due to berestricted in central Moscow on Sunday.
LOW TURNOUT
A low turnout could take the shine off Medvedev's likelycrushing victory and the Kremlin has sought to galvaniseapathetic voters. Analysts say the Kremlin wants to ensure aturnout of at least 70 percent.
"It's not the question of who wins but question of how muchpercent he (Medvedev) should get," an administration officialfrom the Kursk region in central Russia told Reuters bytelephone on condition of anonymity.
Mobile phone operators sent messages urging subscribers tovote. Banners on the streets reminded people of the forthcomingpoll.
A huge poster featuring a smiling Putin walking alongsideMedvedev was towering above downtown Moscow, just a minute'swalk from the Kremlin. "Together we will win," reads theposter.
In Moscow, Russia's traditional "matryoshka" nesting dollswith Medvedev portraits were seen on display at souvenirstalls.
Alexander, an entrepreneur in the Siberian oil town ofNizhnevartovsk who asked not to use his last name, told Reutersby telephone that officials were attempting to bribe peopleinto voting by offering them car lottery tickets at pollingstations.
Opposition candidates have either been disqualified, orhave refused to run in protest. Medvedev's rivals are CommunistParty leader Gennady Zyuganov, pro-Kremlin nationalist VladimirZhirinovsky and Andrei Bogdanov, a little-known politician.
Putin, a former KGB spy who has to step down due to aconstitutional restriction on serving more than two consecutiveterms, endorsed Medvedev, a former lawyer, last December endingyears of suspense over who might replace him.
Putin, 55, is poised to keep a hand on the levers of powerby becoming prime minister in a Medvedev administration.
But some Russians voiced disenchantment.
"I voted for Putin last time but I am not going to vote atall this time," said Vladimir, a Moscow resident in his 30s. "Iam not an idiot. It's humiliating to vote when everything hasbeen pre-decided."
(Additional reporting by Aidar Buribayev and DmitrySolovyov; Editing by Richard Balmforth
