Russia’s election commission has rejected anti-war challenger Boris Nadezhdin as a candidate in next month’s presidential vote.
Mr Nadezhdin has been relatively critical of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale war in Ukraine, when few dissenting voices have been tolerated in Russia.
Speaking to the BBC, he said he would challenge the decision in Russia’s Supreme Court, saying that he understood that “real situation” in the country, that decisions were sometimes taken for political rather than legal reasons.
He also said he was sure Russia would be a peaceful and free nation in the future, as the country’s people wanted a “normal future”.