This is because Mr Navalny’s conviction for defrauding a state timber company would rule him out of standing in the election.
His five-year jail sentence handed down this summer, after being found guilty of heading a group that embezzled 16 million rubles (£300,000) worth of timber from the Kirovles state timber company, was suspended after his appeal.
Mr Navalny maintains that the case was brought against him because of his political opposition to the government.
