> Nasty surprises seem to happen to people who credibly oppose Putin

I believe, they just don't have/don't want to spend money on showing a real election circus, like in US. Russia is a poor country and making people believe that a cross in a white form means something if you are not a billionaire and can't get billionaires to support you with money, costs a lot.

You have "free press" and "free speech" in the internet, doesn't seem to help much, does it?