This is the best summary I could come up with:
Boris Nadezhdin told the BBC he was unlikely to win 17 March elections but Mr Putin would not last six more years.
Opposition leader Alexey Navalny, once seen as a major threat to the president's authority, has been in jail since 2021.
But Mr Nadezhdin, a local councillor for more than three decades, is seen as a former insider of the regime whose criticism of the Kremlin has so far been tolerated.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Mr Nadezhdin was not seen as a rival but would be allowed to stand if he met the necessary conditions.
"My first task will be to stop the conflict with Ukraine, and then to restore normal relations between Russia and the Western community."
Mr Nadezhdin, who name is similar to "nadezhda", the Russian word for hope, said he had the support of "dozens of millions of people".
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