By RFE/RL's Russian Service

Russia's ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party on December 19 proposed its leader, lawmaker Leonid Slutsky, as a candidate in the presidential election scheduled for March 17. Last week, a journalist from the western Tver region, Yekaterina Duntsova, announced her intention to take part in the election. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has run the country as a prime minister or president since 1999, announced his intention to seek another term as an independent candidate earlier in December. He is expected to win easily.