Anti-corruption protests broke out in Russia last weekend and later escalated into a conflict between police and protesters.  

Hundreds have been arrested including opposition leader Alexei Navalny. It was the biggest show of government defiance in Russia in at least half a decade. 

Earlier this month Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Fund published a report accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of buying luxury property, vineyards and yachts in Russia and abroad with bribe money. 

Experts believe the protest is just a reflection of political struggle rather than public sentiment. 

Anton Fedyashin, a professor of Russian history at American University, told CGTN's "World Insight" that the real question is whether the opposition will be able to “articulate a constructive program. Political, economic, and social program resonates with the Russian people in the run-up to the 2018 election”. 

He added, “But till now, they have never been able to “come together as a constructive movement and actually articulate a workable program”. 

The vote will be held amid an economic crisis that has plagued the country in the past years. Russia’s economy is heavily reliant on energy revenues, which took a beating from Western sanctions over the years. 

President Vladimir Putin’s government has made several pledges to carry out structural reforms that would reduce Russia’s dependency on oil and gas and boost private investment. 

But experts believe reform is difficult because the world economy is in bad shape. Former Kremlin adviser Alexander Nekrassov says “Russia should look at China more closely, and stop thinking itself as one of the European countries, because Europe is in trouble, economically in serious trouble”.  

While it is widely agreed that the opposition doesn’t have enough power to pose a threat to the current administration in the upcoming election, the economic plight in Russia is for real. 

With the election fast approaching, Putin faces the huge challenge of mending social divisions and improving people's livelihood. ‍