Vladimir Putin is to run for re-election as Russian president, putting him on course to extend his lock on power to 24 years and become the country’s longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin.

Mr Putin, who has run Russia since 2000, said during a televised meeting with factory workers in the city of Nizhny Novgorod yesterday that he would run next year.

The election for a six-year term is expected to be held on March 18, the third anniversary of the annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. Mr Putin has no real challengers and is expected to cruise to victory, though turnout is expected to be low. Only 58 per cent of respondents to a poll by the independent Levada Center this week said they planned to vote, though 67 per cent of those backed Mr Putin.