An outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling on Russians to boycott the March 2018 Presidential election. Alexei Navalny called for the boycott after Russia's Central Election Commission banned him from running because of a previous conviction in a fraud case. Navalny claims that case was politically motivated. NBC's Lucy Kafanov has more from London.

With this decision by Russia's electoral commission, navalny will not be able to run for president. The only question remains: How much trouble will he be able to cause for president Putin along the way.

ALEXEI NAVALNY RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER "We announce the voters' strike. We will call for the boycott of these elections. We will not recognize the results of these elections."

The kremlin is in a somewhat delicate position of trying to both brush him aside without cracking down so hard that he becomes some sort of a symbolic martyr to his opponents. Navalny has shown himself to be media savvy, he's able to lead protests in urban centers like Moscow and St. peters burg, but he's not necessarily well known or liked by ordinary russians across the country. It's not that the kremlin sees Navalny as a threat to Putin's re-election - he's widely expected to win by enormous margins regardless of who runs against him. What is a threat to the kremlin, however is what Navalny symbolizes.

LUCY KAFANOV NBC NEWS, LONDON "And he's popular among the youth, which is a segment of the population that Putin has a lot of trouble with. LUCY KAFANOV, NBC NEWS, LONDON."