Nadezhdin was seen handing in signatures from his supporters to Russia’s Central Election Commission, which will review his application and make a decision about whether he can run.

The would-be challenger to Vladimir Putin shot to fame with promises to end the conflict in Ukraine and last week announced he passed the 100,000 signature threshold to register.

Nadezhdin has spent the last 30 years in Russian politics, working as a councillor in the town of Dolgoprudny outside Moscow and briefly serving as a lawmaker in the State Duma.

When he met AFP in his modest apartment outside Moscow, he acknowledged it was unlikely he would be allowed to challenge Putin or appear on state television.

However, the 60-year-old’s calls to stop the conflict in Ukraine have brought out crowds of Russians across the country eager to add their signatures to his bid to get on the ballot.

The Central Election Commission must make a decision within 10 days of the application’s submission, during which time it will verify the “authenticity” of the signatures provided.