The Kremlin is on a drive to ensure a high turnout in the presidential election in March by offering iPhones and iPads for the best polling station selfies.
The unusual move is part of a plan by the administration to create a “holiday-like atmosphere” on voting day, Russia’s RBC media outlet reported, citing a leaked Kremlin document. Famous sportspeople, comedians, actors and bloggers will help promote the “Photo at the Polls” competition.
Other polling station attractions are likely to include family games such as guess-the-word, footballing skills tests, and non-binding referendums on issues of interest to schoolchildren and their parents, RBC said.
Putin, who has ruled Russia for 18 years, is widely expected to win re-election for a fourth term in the 18 March vote, but the Kremlin is said to be concerned that voter apathy and the lack of intrigue could cause a low turnout.
Kremlin officials are reported to have been ordered to ensure Putin wins at least 70% of the vote with a 70% turnout.
An opinion poll released last month by the Moscow-based Levada Centre indicated that both figures would fall short of the target by about 10 percentage points. The opposition figurehead Alexei Navalny, who is barred from running in the election, has called for a boycott of the vote.
Critics say the Kremlin’s schemes to attract voters echo the tactics employed by the Soviet authorities to ensure a high turnout at single-party elections, when usually scarce supplies of meat and vegetables would be sold at polling stations.
Putin is running as an independent candidate after distancing himself from the ruling United Russia party, which has been dogged in recent years by corruption scandals. He began his election campaign on Wednesday with a visit to a railway carriage factory in Tver, a city 110 miles from Moscow.
During the visit, he said Russia’s minimum wage should be raised from the current 9,489 roubles (£123) a month to be in line with the minimum cost of living, now estimated at 11,163 roubles.