It was at a grand military awards ceremony last December that Vladimir Putin told the Russian public he would stand for the presidency for a fifth time.
Voting is now taking place over three days until Sunday, even though the result is not in doubt as he has no credible opponent.
At last December's solemn event in one of the Kremlin's most opulent halls, Russia's leader of 24 years had just handed out top honours to soldiers who had taken part in Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine.
He was chatting with a small group of participants when the commander of a pro-Russian unit in Ukraine's occupied Donetsk region approached him.