MOSCOW — Moscow has strongly criticized U.S. legislation that calls for sanctions against Russian officials accused of human rights abuses and warned that it will respond in kind.

The legislation is primarily intended to end Cold War-era trade restrictions and was hailed by U.S. businesses worried about falling behind in the race to win shares of Russia's more open market, but its human rights part has outraged President Vladimir Putin's government.

The U.S. measure, dubbed the Magnitsky act, is named for Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested by officials he accused of a $230-million tax fraud.

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Magnitsky was repeatedly denied medical treatment and in 2009 died after almost a year in jail after being severely beaten by guards. Russian rights groups accused the Kremlin of failing to prosecute those responsible, while independent media claimed that such tax frauds are widespread.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Russian media that he had warned U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during their meeting in Dublin on Thursday that Russia "will ban entry to the Americans who are in fact guilty of violating human rights."

'Theater of the absurd'
Russia's Foreign Ministry said the U.S. Senate vote late Thursday was a "show in the theater of the absurd."

It warned that Russia will respond to the new legislation in kind, adding that the United States will have to take the blame for the worsening of U.S.-Russian ties.

"Probably people in Washington forgot what year it is and are thinking that the Cold War isn't over yet," the ministry said in a statement.

Russian whistleblower dies in UK under strange circumstances

It added that "it's weird and strange to hear human rights-related complaints against us from the politicians of a country where torture and abductions of people all over the world were legitimized in the 21st century."

Alexei Pushkov, the Kremlin-connected head of the Foreign Affairs committee in the lower house of Russia's parliament, said that lawmakers will consider legislation that would impose travel restrictions and an assets freeze on U.S. citizens accused of human rights violations.

However, Sergei Alexashenko, an economist who was a deputy chief of Russia's Central Bank, said on Ekho Moskvy radio late Thursday that the Kremlin would be unlikely to take any strong anti-U.S. action for fear of causing an even bigger strain in relations.

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And Alexei Navalny, Russia's leading anti-corruption whistleblower and opposition leader, wrote in his blog Friday that officials' anger against the U.S. legislation stems from fear for their foreign assets.

"The Magnitsky act is absolutely pro-Russian. It is aimed at scoundrels who stole [money], laundered it abroad, then tortured and killed a Russian citizen,” he said.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev last week voiced concern that EU nations may follow the U.S. example and pass similar laws.

Media reports said that British authorities have compiled a list of 60 Russian officials barred from entry over their alleged involvement in Magnitsky's death. 

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Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday he thought that three female members of punk band Pussy Riot who were sentenced to two years in jail for a political protest in a Moscow cathedral should be freed.

Medvedev, who was president for four years until May, appeared to be trying to disassociate himself from the jail terms that were condemned as excessive by the West and rights groups at home, as well as by liberal Russians.

As president, Medvedev styled himself as a liberal reformer, and though he handed the presidency back to Vladimir Putin he has made it clear he wants to remain in politics and perhaps even return to the presidency one day.

The three band members -- Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich -- were convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred on Aug. 17 after belting out a profanity-laced song criticizing Putin on the altar of Moscow's main cathedral in February.

Russian court sentences Pussy Riot rockers to 2 years in prison

They have been in jail since March and their appeal proceedings are due to begin on Oct. 1.

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"The prolongation of their incarceration in the conditions of jail seems to me to be unproductive," Medvedev said in televised remarks. "A suspended sentence, taking into account time they have already spent (in jail), would be entirely sufficient."

However, Medvedev also criticized the women, saying he was "sickened by what they did, by their looks, by the hysteria which followed what had happened."

He said prison is "very, very strict" punishment as a rule.

Pussy Riot supporters protest at Russian cathedral as global campaign heats up

Medvedev emphasized he was expressing his personal view only and was not seeking to influence the case.

According to the BBC, it is unclear whether his comments could bring about a softening of the women's sentences. Medvedev's influence in Russia is limited, the report added.

Police: Russian killer wrote Pussy Riot message to mislead us

The band members had faced up to seven years in prison, but Putin said during the trial that they should not be judged "too harshly" and prosecutors subsequently requested three-year sentences; they were sentenced to two years each in the end.

In a television interview last week, Putin declined to comment on whether he believed the sentences were fitting, saying he was not interfering in the case.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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MOSCOW -- Security guards scuffled with masked protesters who demonstrated outside Moscow's main cathedral on Wednesday in support of three members of Pussy Riot, as a wave of global support for the Russian punk rockers gained speed.

Witnesses said 18 demonstrators in colorful balaclavas -- similar to those worn by the band members when they staged an irreverent protest at the same church -- mounted the steps of Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral and held up black cards with white letters spelling out the phrase, "Blessed are the merciful."

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Guards moved swiftly to disperse the demonstrators and treated some of them roughly, Internet TV channel Dozhd reported. Pussy Riot supporters said on social media that at least two people had been detained.

A Moscow court is to issue a verdict on Friday following the trial of the three women who sang a "punk prayer" on the altar of Christ the Savior -- Moscow's main cathedral -- in February, calling on the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Vladimir Putin, then prime minister and now president.

Prosecutors want the judge to convict Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred and sentence each to three years in prison.

Putin has said the women should not be judged too harshly, but he risks appearing weak if they walk free.

Winning over hearts abroad
Since their arrests, the women have been vilified by the Russian state media -- while winning over hearts abroad.

Supporters of the band will mobilize this week in at least a two dozen cities worldwide to hold simultaneous demonstrations an hour before the court issues its verdict.

Russia's Pussy Riot: Unmasked and on trial

Calls for the women to be freed have come from a long list of celebrities such as Madonna and Bjork. Protests have been held in a number of Western capitals, including Berlin, where last week about 400 people joined Canadian electro-pop performance artist Peaches to support the band.

In one of the most extravagant displays, Reykjavik Mayor Jon Gnarr rode through the streets of the Icelandic capital in a Gay Pride parade this weekend dressed like a band member -- wearing a bright pink dress and matching balaclava -- while lip-synching to one of Pussy Riot's songs.

PhotoBlog: Pussy Riot fans wear balaclavas to rally behind band

Amnesty International has called the women prisoners of conscience and begun collecting signatures by text message for a petition to be sent to the Russian government, while the U.S. State Department has repeatedly expressed its concern.

Madonna donned a balaclava during a concert in Moscow last week and had "Pussy Riot" written on her bare back. Yoko Ono sent a personal message to Samutsevich, saying that "the power of your every word is now growing in us."

A group of leading British musicians, including Pete Townshend of the Who and members of the Pet Shop Boys, published a letter in The Times of London ahead of Putin's visit during the Olympics to urge him to give the Pussy Riot members a fair hearing.

On Friday, activists in more than a dozen cities, from Moscow to Toronto, are expected to take to the streets at 2 p.m. Moscow time (4 a.m. ET), an hour before the judge is to issue the verdict. The protests are being coordinated by the defense lawyers.

Venues vary from the square outside the ornate Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona to the yard outside the Russian Embassy in London.

More Russia coverage from NBCNews.com

In Paris, the protest will be held on Stravinsky Square and led by 29-year-old Alexey Prokopyev from Russie-Libertés, a Paris-based organization formed in December to bring together Russians studying or working in France.

"Most people go to these rallies in Paris because we cannot be in Russia at the moment for various reasons -- because of jobs, classes," said Prokopyev, who was born in the Soviet Union and has spent most of the past 17 years in France. "We all wish we were in Moscow now, but since we can't we do it in Paris."

Russie-Libertés also is helping to organize rallies in Marseille, Nice, Lyons and Montpellier.

From March 2012: Anti-Putin activists pay high price, but refuse to back down

Prokopyev said that he and his peers "want Russia to be a normal country" and be able to elect a president "who doesn't make the country where we were born a laughingstock."

In New York, Friday's protest will take place outside the Russian Consulate and later on Times Square.

"It's absurd that this case is being treated as criminal, while in any other civilized country that would be merely an administrative offense," said Xenia Grubstein, a 31-year-old journalist helping to organize the New York protest.

'Serious problems' with vote that kept Putin in power, monitors say

A protest is also planned in Washington, where last month punk rockers and arts activists rallied outside the Russian Embassy.

'Putin's Russia'
In France, Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti last week issued a statement expressing concern that artistic freedom was on trial.

Complete international news coverage on NBCNews.com

A German cross-party group of lawmakers sent a letter to the Russian ambassador calling the five months the band members have spent in custody and the possible prison terms "draconian and disproportionate" punishment.

The international press has been full of critical reports from the trial. One of Germany's most influential magazines, Der Spiegel, featured the band on its cover: a picture of Tolokonnikova behind bars and the headline "Putin's Russia."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Updated at 9:20 a.m. ET: MOSCOW - Three women who protested against Vladimir Putin in a "punk prayer" on the altar of Russia's main cathedral went on trial Monday in a case seen as a test of the longtime leader's treatment of dissent during a new presidential term.

The members of the band Pussy Riot face up to seven years in prison for an unsanctioned performance in February in which they entered Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral, ascended the altar and called on the Virgin Mary to "throw Putin out!"

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Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, were brought to Moscow's Khamovniki court for Russia's highest-profile trial since former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was convicted in 2010.

Governments and rights groups, as well as musicians such as Sting, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Franz Ferdinand, have expressed concern about the trial, reflecting doubts that Putin - who is serving his third presidential term and could be in power until 2024 - will become more tolerant of dissenting voices.

On Monday, supporters chanted "Girls, we're with you!" and "Victory!" as the women, each handcuffed by the wrist to a female officer, were led from a white and blue police van into the courthouse through a side entrance. Streets around the court, on a high Moscow River embankment, were closed.

More Russia coverage from NBCNews.com

They were led into a metal and clear-plastic courtroom cage, where they milled and spoke with lawyers as preparations began. Tolokonnikova, in a blue checkered shirt, lowered her head to speak through a small opening in the enclosure. Two pairs of handcuffs hung at the ready just beside her face.

"We did not want to offend anybody," Tolokonnikova said, speaking to a defense lawyer who stood outside the enclosure. "We admit our political guilt, but not legal guilt."

The band's stunt was designed to highlight the close relationship between the dominant Russian Orthodox Church and former KGB officer Putin, then prime minister, whose campaign to return to the presidency in a March election was backed clearly, if informally, by the leader of the church, Patriarch Kirill.

'Serious problems' with vote that kept Putin in power, monitors say

Symbolically, the trial is taking place in the same Moscow courthouse where Khodorkovsky was found guilty of stealing his own oil in a trial in 2010 that many Western politicians said looked like a crude Kremlin attempt to keep a man it saw as a political threat behind bars.

'Our motives are exclusively political'
The women are charged with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred or hostility.

But in opening statements read by a defense lawyer, who sometimes struggled with the handwritten texts, they said they were protesting against Kirill's political support for Putin and had no animosity toward the church or the faithful.

"I have never had such feelings toward anyone in the world," Tolokonnikova said in her statement. "We are not enemies of Christians ... our motives are exclusively political."

"We only want Russia to change for the better," she said.

Alyokhina's statement said: "I thought the church loved all its children, but it seems the church loves only those children who love Putin."

The women looked thinner and paler than they did when they were jailed following the performance in late February, shortly before Putin, in power as president from 2000-2008 and then as prime minister, won a six-year presidential term on March 4.

"She looks like she has been on a long hunger strike," Stanislav Samutsevich said of his daughter. "Her cheeks are hollow … I've never seen her in such a state. I think this is like an inquisition, like mockery."

A reporter on state-run Rossiya-24 television presented a different picture, focusing on occasional smiles and chuckles and an overall air of self-assuredness among the women, who whispered to each other as a prosecutor read the charges.

PhotoBlog: Topless feminist confronts Russian church patriarch

"Look at their faces; they are laughing and joking," the reporter said on the news, adding that a viewer might think they were "continuing the action" they carried out at the cathedral.

Prosecutors asked for the trial, which was streamed live on the Internet, to be closed to the public and the media, saying a "rift in society" and emotions over the case put the defendants and other participants at risk.

Envelope-pushing performances
Pussy Riot, who say they were inspired by bands such as Bikini Kill from the 1990s-era Riot Grrrl U.S. feminist punk movement, burst onto the scene this winter with angry lyrics and envelope-pushing performances, including one on Red Square, that went viral on the Internet.

The collective see themselves as part of a disenchanted generation that is looking for creative ways to show its dissatisfaction with Putin's dominance of the political landscape.

The all-girl group has no lead singer, and, in order that anyone may join, its members don multi-colored balaclavas, which have become its trademark. They numbered five when they formed in November but later expanded to 10 members, though there have been no performances in Russia since their bandmates' arrest.

Among the group's most noted outrageous acts was the drawing of an enormous phallus on a drawbridge in St. Petersburg. Several members participated in an obscene "fertility rite" at Moscow museum, mocking Dmitry Medvedev, who was elected Russian president the next day.

From March 2012: Anti-Putin activists pay high price, but refuse to back down

'Russian superhero' needed?
One member of the group, who spoke to Britain's The Observer newspaper, said members of the band masked their faces to appear anonymous in public to show that "everybody can be Pussy Riot." The 25-year-old, who spoke via video while in hiding for fear of arrest, went by the nickname "Sparrow."

She said a "Russian superhero" was needed at the moment. Wearing masks and costumes during performances, "Sparrow" told The Observer, felt like "having a second life. It's like being Spider-Man or Catwoman. ... When I'm in a mask I feel a little bit like a superhero. I feel more power. I feel really brave. I believe that I can do everything and can change the situation."

Russian Orthodox Church apologizes for Photoshopping patriarch's watch

She also told the newspaper: "It's a bit scary but we're sure what we are doing is right. … When you're doing the right thing you're not scared. Because it's horrible what's happened to the girls."

Anthony Kiedis and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers spoke out in support of the group during the Calif. funk-rock band's July 22 concert in Moscow. Kiedis wore a Pussy Riot t-shirt on stage and both musicians gave letters to Pyotr Verzilov, Tolokonnikova's husband, according to The Guardian newspaper.

Church revival
The unsanctioned performance that prompted the arrest of three Pussy Riot members offended many believers in predominantly Orthodox Christian Russia, where the church has enjoyed a huge revival since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

More Europe coverage from NBCNews.com

But while some two-thirds of the country's 142 million people are considered Russian Orthodox, the number of practicing churchgoers is far smaller in a nation where the legacy of decades of official atheism looms large.

Patriarch Kirill has said the church was "under attack by persecutors" and has encouraged pro-church demonstrations including a procession to Christ the Savior in April.

"This is only the small, visible tip of an iceberg of extremists," Mikhail Kuznetsov, a lawyer representing church security guards, said in an interview with the newspaper Moscow News last week. "They are aiming to destroy the thousand-year-old traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church, to provoke a schism, and to deceivingly bring the flock not towards God, but towards Satan."

'Harmless civil activity'
The defendants' supporters say the charges are politically-motivated.

In a poll by the independent Levada Center and released by the prominent newspaper Kommersant earlier this month, 50 percent of Muscovites said they did not support a criminal trial for the members of Pussy Riot, with 36 percent supporting the trial.

Pussy Riot's cathedral performance was part of a lively protest movement that at its peak saw 100,000 people turn out for rallies in Moscow, some of the largest in Russia since the demise of the USSR.

Reuters, The Associated Press and NBC News staff contributed to this report.

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The U.S. ambassador to Russia was back at it again Thursday on Twitter with questions about how Russian media gets hold of his schedule, raising broader concerns about surveillance during a time of tension between Washington and Moscow.

Michael McFaul, no stranger to Twitter controversy since taking up his post in Moscow in January, told his more than 21,300 followers he was frequently dogged by representatives of NTV, a Kremlin-friendly television station.

"Everywhere I go NTV is there. Wonder who gives them my calendar? They wouldn't tell me. Wonder what the laws are here for such things?" McFaul said in one tweet posted to his account, @McFaul.

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"I respect press right to go anywhere & ask any question. But do they have a right to read my email and listen to my phone?" McFaul also tweeted. "When I asked these 'reporters' how they knew my schedule, I got no answer."

McFaul was apparently describing an encounter with a self-described NTV television crew before a meeting with a Russian human rights activist.

Footage of the encounter posted on the NTV website shows a clearly irritated but mostly smiling McFaul, coatless under a wet snow, sparring for several minutes in Russian with a woman holding a microphone who says she is from NTV.

"Your ambassador to our country walks around all the time without this. They do not interfere with his work. And you are always with me -- at home," McFaul said in the clip.

"Aren't you ashamed to do this? It is an insult to your country when you do this, do you understand that?"

He said his meeting with activist Lev Ponomaryov, whom he said he has known for 25 years, was part of his job, just like a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev two days earlier.

Blogger Alexey Navalny, a vocal opponent of Vladimir Putin, reacted to McFaul's tweet on his own account, saying "I don't understand McFaul. He's got diplomatic immunity. He can just lawfully beat up the NTV journalists. Come on, Mike! One for all!"

State Department officials described McFaul's tweets as rhetorical and said they did not necessarily reflect formal concerns over surveillance by the Russian government or media.  

"A rhetorical question, in and of itself, is not directed at anyone," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

"Many of our chiefs of mission have Twitter accounts and they are allowed to express themselves. We have full confidence in their ability to express themselves on matters of U.S. policy."

Tripping up on Twitter
McFaul is among a number of senior U.S. diplomats who have taken to Twitter as the State Department attempts to harness social media to get the U.S. government's message across.

But the personal style of the new communication has at times caused controversy.

The Russian government rebuked McFaul, a former White House adviser on Russia, earlier this month after he tweeted his concern over the detention of protesters who challenged Vladimir Putin's presidential election victory.

Russia and the United States say they are committed to improved ties, but have seen differences grow over issues including the Syrian crisis and U.S. plans for a missile defense shield in Europe.

Putin accused U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in December of stirring protests against his 12-year rule by encouraging "mercenary " Kremlin foes. Washington has dismissed the accusations.

McFaul, a Stanford University professor who specialized in analyzing the development of democracy in Russia and the former Soviet Union, was criticized by Russian state television when he arrived to take up his new post in January.

Following a meeting with opposition leaders shortly after his arrival, a commentator on state television said McFaul was not an expert on Russia but simply a specialist in the promotion of democracy.

Other commentators and media reports have suggested he is seeking to help opponents topple the government. A film aired on NTV earlier this month hinted that opposition demonstrations were funded by the White House with the aim of undermining Putin.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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SEOUL, South Korea -- It was a comment not intended for public consumption, and another lesson for President Barack Obama on the importance of being careful about what you say around microphones, especially in an election year.

At the end of a 90-minute meeting between Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday, journalists rushed in to hear remarks from the leaders about the content of their talks.

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Journalists spied the two leaders leaning close together and talking in hushed tones.  According to those in the room, the conversation was difficult to hear but the videotape revealed Obama asking the Russian leader to wait until after the November election before pushing forward on the topic of a planned missile defense shield.

Photos: Obama and Medvedev talk nukes

"Pool" videotape provided more information about the conversation between the two leaders:

Obama: This is my last election…After my election I have more flexibility.

Medvedev: I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir. 

While most journalists didn't catch the rest, one Russian reporter managed to record the context with his equipment.

Obama: On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it's important for him to give me space.

Medvedev: Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you...

Obama: This is my last election…After my election I have more flexibility.

Medvedev: I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir. 

The planned anti-ballistic shield system has been one of many sore spots between the two world powers in the last few years.

Obama says US can reduce nuclear stockpile

Moscow says it fears the system would weaken Russia by gaining the capability to shoot down the nuclear missiles it relies on as a deterrent. It wants a legally binding pledge from the United States that Russia's nuclear forces would not be targeted by the system.

White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said the overheard comments were not a departure from the Administration's stated policy and responded to the exchange with the following statement:

“The United States is committed to implementing our missile defense system, which we’ve repeatedly said is not aimed at Russia. However, given the longstanding difference between the US and Russia on this issue, it will take time and technical work before we can try to reach an agreement. Since 2012 is an election year in both countries, with an election and leadership transition in Russia and an election in the United States, it is clearly not a year in which we are going to achieve a breakthrough. Therefore, President Obama and President Medvedev agreed that it was best to instruct our technical experts to do the work of better understanding our respective positions, providing space for continued discussions on missile defense cooperation going forward.”

Medvedev may have told Obama that he understands Obama's predicament, but the White House has been under increasing pressure on the issue.  Last week, the Russian leader gave a downbeat assessment of global security and international relations, saying the "Euro-Atlantic" security community he had hoped to create remained a "myth."

Medvedev, who will be succeeded by Vladimir Putin in May, said Moscow was unconvinced by the argument that the planned missile defense shield was intended as protection against a missile attack by countries such as Iran.

"We have time (for an agreement) but it is running out, and I think that it would be in our mutual benefit to reach mutually acceptable agreements," Medvedev told a security conference.

"The main thing is that we must hear one simple thing - hear it and receive confirmation: 'Respected friends from Russia, our missile defense is not aimed against Russian nuclear forces.' This must be affirmed, not in a friendly chat over a cup of tea or a glass of wine, but in a document."

NBC News' Alicia Jennings and Kristen Welker, and Reuters contributed to this report.

More than 100 million Russians will go to the polls on Sunday to elect a president who will be in office for the next six years. Msnbc.com's Alastair Jamieson examines the potential outcomes -- and what's at stake.

What do the polls suggest will happen?

Most polls indicate it will be an outright victory for Vladimir Putin, the current prime minister and former president who has made a deal with his ally Dmitry Medvedev, the former prime minister and current president. Despite initial public outrage over their job swap, Putin is consistently polling at around 50 per cent – well ahead of the fragmented opposition.

And even if voters do not endorse Putin, his victory is likely to be assured with the help of regional officials loyal to his United Russia party. Having extended the presidential term of office from four to six years, Putin would remain in charge until 2018 – or 2024, if he won a second term. By then, Putin would have chalked up 24 years in power out of the 33 years since the collapse of Communism thanks to his previous terms as president and prime minister.

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If the outcome is such a certainty, why should the U.S. and other Western countries care?

Experts agree the U.S. will find Russia harder to deal with on Putin’s return. On Wednesday, British think tank Chatham House warned that “Russia’s stability is at increased risk” due to Putin's determination to stay in power. “The overriding objective of Vladimir Putin and his team is to preserve the narrow and personalized ruling system that they have built over the past 12 years,” it said in a report. “Real change, necessarily involving accountability and devolution of power, would disrupt the system. But without real change, Russia cannot develop as effectively as it could, and the Putin system is vulnerable to shock.”

PhotoBlog from Dec. 2011: Russians vote in election test for Putin

Opposition leaders believe Russia at a crossroads in this election, according to NBC News correspondent Jim Maceda.

“The choice is stark: six, perhaps 12, more years of an authoritative regime that is belligerent to critics ... and which sees the U.S. and its allies as Cold War rivals -- or a new, more democratic Russia that respects its neighbors and no longer snubs the West,” he said.

“The feeling is that a President Putin will instinctively shrink from, rather than encourage, co-operation with the West on a range of issues including Iran and Syria, so there’s a lot at stake for the U.S. in this election," added Maceda, who has reported on the country since the days of the Soviet Union.

Although Putin enjoys strong domestic popularity, especially in rural Russia, dissatisfaction with his seemingly invincible regime has resulted in unprecedented public protests, with thousands joining recent marches in central Moscow that would have been unthinkable only a few months ago.

What happens if Putin doesn't do as well as the polls suggest? 

If no candidate receives more than 50 per cent of the total votes cast, a second round run-off between the top two contenders will be held within 15 days, according to the country's electoral rules.

Russians rally for Putin -- and 2 days off work

Who are the opposition?

Putin’s United Russia is opposed by long-standing Communist rival Gennady Zyuganov and Sergey Mironov of A Just Russia. Two other candidates will liven up the contest. The first is Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party candidate who once suggested retaking Alaska from the U.S. His populist remarks have repeatedly landed him in trouble. The second is Mikhail Prokhorov, the 6’ 9” international playboy who is the multi-billionaire owner of the New Jersey Nets and business partner of rap star Jay-Z.

Meet the NBA tycoon who could be president of Russia

Eleven other candidates were summarily rejected by Russia’s Central Elections Committee as ineligible for reasons ranging from paperwork errors to not having the necessary two million verifiable signatures of support.

Is Prokhorov wasting his time?

“On paper, the ‘billionaire bachelor’ should probably pack it in and focus on his day job and the back half of the NBA season,” said Maceda. “But guess who is the only candidate surging in the polls? Prokhorov was hovering around one per cent when he launched his campaign in December, now he’s scraping 10 per cent.”

Could his pro-business platform resonate with Russians sick of endemic corruption and bribery?  “He is learning to connect with ordinary Russians,” said Maceda. “His performance of a Russian rap tune has gone viral on the web and, who knows, maybe if this goes into a second round and enough voters who want neither Putin not Zyuganov rally round the new face, anything could happen.”

But would communists really switch support from Zyuganov to back the world’s 32nd richest man in the event of a second round? “There is no evidence that suggests that is likely,” said Professor Richard Rose, director of the Centre for the Study of Public Policy at Glasgow'sUniversity of Strathclyde and co-author of the "Popular Support for an Undemocratic Regime."

Can the results be trusted anyway?

“Vote fraud was widespread in December’s parliamentary elections and it is likely to be a factor again,” said James Nixey, an expert on Russia with Chatham House and a co-author of Wednesday’s report.  “It is likely a Putin victory will be solidified through fraud before and after, rather than on polling day itself.”

A Wall Street Journal analysis of December’s Duma election results showed United Russia party captured a high share of voters in districts where turnout was well above the national average, suggesting ballot-stuffing.

But although the issue has angered many voters, Russians seem resigned to the problem. “Russians are not particularly concerned with the process,” said Rose. “They do not view the elections in the same way an independent observer might.”

What issues have featured in the campaign?

“Wages and economic prosperity are what matter most,” said Nixey. “There has also been a patriotic narrative from Putin, which strikes a chord with voters.”

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, there were wider questions about what sort of society could be created and how it should be structured. “Now, most educated professionals spend their time bogged down in how to make schools and hospitals work for the best,” said Rose, adding that there was not widespread demand for political upheaval.

Putin succeeded in imposing some kind of order in the post-Soviet Russia he inherited from the unpredictable Boris Yeltsin. He won a power struggle with the country’s new super-rich oligarchs -- tackling them with the ruthlessness learned during his time working for the KGB -- and used media stunts such as bare-chested horseback riding in order to maintain his appeal to ordinary Russians.

Given Putin’s poll lead,  the opposition is not focused on whether Putin wins, but how. “This election is about the first round,” said Maceda. “If other candidates do better than expected and Putin is forced into a second round, the opposition will see it as a major victory and the beginning of the end for Putin.”

But a decisive, unchallenged victory for Putin could see the opposition neutered until the next election cycle in six years’ time, he added.

So what, if anything, might change?

Putin has pledged more than $160 billion in campaign promises, Maceda said, so some Russians will reap the benefits of his determination to stay in office.

Further protests could also draw concessions, particularly to the country’s frustrated middle classes. “The very fact that there have been protests shows that there is the sense of an ending around Putin’s regime, that it is aware of its own mortality,” said Nixey.

However, there is no wider expectation of reform. Data from the country’s Levada Center polling organization shows four out of five Russians don’t believe elections make any difference to national affairs.

A laidback Yankee in trouble in Putin's court

Is social media playing a role?

As in the Arab Spring, protesters have used Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to get their message across. In December, video footage and pictures that appeared to show election officials rigging ballots in favor of United Russia were widely shared online, sparking a furious backlash against Medvedev.

The president -- a keen user of social media with 759,000 Twitter followers of his Russian language account and 144,000 in English -- saw thousands of negative comments posted on his official Facebook page by internet users accusing him of burying the issue of election fraud by holding an internal inquiry.

Meanwhile, Russia’s independent elections monitor, Golos, has created an interactive map for voters to upload video and photographs of any election violations on Sunday directly from their mobile phones. The organization, funded largely by Western governments, has been targeted by a documentary on state-controlled television accusing it of serving American interests, according to a New York Times report.

Plot to kill Putin foiled, pro-government TV channel reports

Will there be violence?

“With security forces being full of young guys carrying machine guns, there is always the fear that these protests could turn nasty,” said Nixey, whose report suggests a "next wave of protest in the Soviet-era provincial cities, fuelled by social and economic discontent, is inevitable" However, he added: “If I had to predict whether there would be serious public disorder I would guess not. The country is generally more secure than those caught up in the Arab Spring.”

Rose added: “The fragmented opposition would first need to rally around one particular issue, and then use that to create some kind of significant embarrassment for Putin. That doesn’t appear a realistic prospect at the moment.”

NBC News' Jim Maceda contributed to this report. Follow Alastair Jamieson on Twitter.

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Updated at 9:35 a.m. ET: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has confirmed he intends to appoint Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister if, as expected, he is elected president in March. Medvedev is currently the president.

Updated at 7:45 a.m. ET:  Vladimir Putin stepped up his criticism of the United States, saying it wants to dominate other countries and that the world is tired of taking orders from Washington.

"Sometimes it seems to me that America does not need allies, it needs vassals," the Russian prime minister said during a televised call-in show.

He said that Russia would like to be an ally of the United States but that "people are tired of the dictates of one country."

He also commented on the announcement earlier this week that billionaire New Jersey Nets basketball team owner Mikhail Prokhorov would be standing against him in next year's presidential elections.

"I think it's right for our country," Putin said of Prokhorov's decision. "I wish him success."

Putin's televised encounter with his citizens was described in a Moscow Times live blog.

Story published 6:20 a.m. ET:

MOSCOW - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for cameras to be installed in all polling stations across the country, while at the same time deflecting allegations that fraud helped his ruling party win recent parliamentary elections.

In his annual televised call-in question-and-answer session, he said the recent elections reflected the views of the population and  shrugged off the biggest opposition protests of his 12-year rule, saying they were permissible if they remained peaceful and within the law.

---

Putin's first public remarks since Saturday's mass protests signaled he would not bow to the protesters' demands for the December 4 election to be rerun. But he made a gesture to them by calling for cameras to be installed at polling stations for the presidential election which he hopes to win on March 4.

• Voters punish Putin; observers cite irregularities

"I am proposing and asking for the installation of web cameras at all the polling stations in the country," he said.

"From my point of view, the result of the (December 4) election undoubtedly reflects public opinion in the country," said Putin, taking questions from a studio audience in a call-in broadcast live to the nation.

Putin, 59, has used the annual call-in to burnish his image as a strong, effective and caring leader with a detailed knowledge of the country and an interest in each of its citizens.  He has already served two terms as president and was forced under the Russian law to step down after his second term but is now entitled to run again.

But he is under much more pressure this year following protests by tens of thousands of people over the election, which international monitors said was slanted to favor his United Russia.

• PhotoBlog: Scenes from the Russian election

United Russia won just under half the votes, enough to have a slim majority in the State Duma, the lower house, but fell far short of the strong majority in the previous chamber.

The opposition says its result would have been much worse if there had not been widespread ballot-stuffing and other irregularities.

Putin's authority has been dented by the protests and his popularity sank after he announced plans in September to swap jobs with his ally President Dmitry Medvedev after the presidential poll.

Many Russians saw this announcement as a signal that everything had been cooked up between the two leaders with no respect for democracy, and Putin's ratings have fallen since then.

• Post-election cyber attack?

Putin is still expected to win the presidential election next year but he now faces much more resistance than expected and the call-in was an opportunity to reestablish his legitimacy.

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Msnbc.com staff and Reuters contributed to this report.