President Vladimir Putin is expected to comfortably secure his fourth term in office as Russia prepares to hold general elections on Sunday.

Putin has been the dominant figure in Russian politics since 2000 and many Russian voters can no longer imagine public life without him in charge.

He has faced a slew of accusations in recent years from the West, such as Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 US election, its role in the Syrian war, the annexation of Crimea and the recent poisoning of an ex-spy from Russia in the UK.

But the allegations seem to have failed to dampen his popularity among the Russians. 

TRT World 's Simon McGregor-Wood reports.