Russia's upper house of parliament has set a date next March for the presidential election, opening the way for candidates to start registering to run.
The Federation Council upper house voted unanimously to confirm March 2nd as the date for the poll.
Meanwhile, Russian riot police beat opposition activists yesterday and detained nearly 200 people at protest rallies against President Vladimir Putin a week before the country's parliamentary election.
Riot police in St Petersburg, Russia's second city and Mr Putin's home town, detained Boris Nemtsov and Nikita Belykh, leaders of the Union of Right Forces (SPS) party who are both running in the December 2nd election. They were later released.
The protests came a day after police detained opposition leader and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov in Moscow - a move the United States condemned as part of "aggressive tactics" by authorities.
Mr Kasparov, leader of the Other Russia group, was among 60 detained in the 3,000-strong Moscow march, activists said.
In St Petersburg, riot police beat activists with batons and their fists before forcing them into police buses. Dozens more were detained outside the Winter Palace, the residence of the Tsars, and at another rally in the city centre.
"They have forbidden us from discussing Putin," Mr Nemtsov told the crowd. "But we have come here today to ask Mr Putin and the authorities why is there so much corruption in the country?"
He was promptly detained by five riot policemen as the crowd chanted "Russia without Putin".
About 500 activists made it to the marches but were vastly outnumbered by riot police. Most of those detained were later released, organizers said.