Millions of Russians began voting in regional elections on Sunday in a mid-term test of President Dmitry Medvedev’s pledge to loosen the Kremlin’s grip on the political system.

The regional and municipal votes across the country were set to gauge the popularity of the ruling United Russia party amid anger at rising prices and unemployment after the global crisis ended 10 years of rapid economic growth.

A repeat of widespread violations reported by the opposition in regional elections last year could boost a series of anti-government protests on March 20, six days after the poll.

Around 32 million of Russia’s 110 million registered voters are eligible to vote in polls, which include elections for eight regional parliaments. Opposition parties predicted a low turnout by voters disillusioned by a tightly controlled process.

"Nothing will change, it’s almost like it was under the Communists," said driver Alexei Ivchenko, 46, in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fifth largest city. He voted for the left-leaning opposition Fair Russia as a protest against the authorities.

The elections come half way through Medvedev’s four year term as he struggles to demonstrate progress on a pledge to loosen the tight control of the political system introduced during Vladimir Putin’s eight years in the Kremlin.

Despite a series of relatively liberal speeches by Medvedev, analysts have struggled to point to any significant deviation from policies introduced by Putin, now prime minister and dominant partner in Russia’s ruling "tandem."

Accusations of voting violations were so widespread in a Moscow city council vote last October -- overwhelmingly won by United Russia -- that three usually loyal opposition parties walked out of parliament in a rare public protest. They were coaxed back by Medvedev’s promise of a fairer vote this time.

Golos, Russia’s largest independent election monitoring body, said it has seen no sign that Sunday’s elections would be an improvement. "We see less and less political competition all the time," said Golos head Liliya Shibanova.

Campaigning for Sunday’s votes was marred by the barring of candidates from the liberal Yabloko party from two regional polls after officials ruled that several thousand voter signatures required to get the party on the ballot were invalid.

Federal election officials have dismissed opposition complaints of bias and say Russian elections are more open than those in Western Europe.

Putin’s United Russia is expected to dominate the elections, drawing on its immense resources, entrenched position and popular leader.

Facing a fragmented opposition, United Russia’s national approval rating in February was between 50 and 65 percent, according to recent polls.

"We need stability and order in the country," said engineer Alexander Martyugin, 52, after voting for United Russia in the centre of Yekaterinburg. "Who else is there to vote for?"

But Putin’s party faces growing anger over rapid hikes in prices for communal services and transport, which helped prompt 10,000 people to gather in the western region of Kaliningrad in January for one of the largest opposition protests in a decade.

In most regions United Russia will face three parties -- the Communists, Fair Russia and the nationalist Liberal Democrats, which are all relatively cautious in their opposition to the Kremlin.

First results are expected after the close of polls in the west of Russia at 8 p.m. Moscow time.