MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Russia’s Supreme Court has rejected Ksenia Sobchak’s appeal against the decision to recognize Vladimir Putin’s registration as a presidential candidate as lawful on Monday.

"The court dismisses Sobchak’s complaint and leaves the first-instance court’s decision unchanged," the judge announced the ruling. So, the court’s ruling came into legal force.

Sobchak filed a complaint with the court having used her right as a presidential contender to strive to remove another candidate from the presidential election race. She asked the court to recognize Putin’s registration as legally invalid. "Putin’s holding of the presidential post for the fourth time creates negative effect for Russia as a whole. The only way to leave this circle is to exclude Putin from the candidates’ list," she said.

A representative for the Central Election Commission (CEC) asked the court not to satisfy this complaint. "Putin’s registration was carried out with observance of all legal norms," the CEC lawyer said.

The Supreme Court earlier dismissed her claim demanding to abolish Vladimir Putin’s registration as a presidential contender. When making the ruling, the court referred to the interpretation of the Constitutional Court which says that a person can occupy the presidential office for not more than two terms in a row and not two terms in general.

Sobchak was nominated as a presidential candidate by the Civil Initiative party. Putin is running for the Russian presidency as a self-nominated candidate. The election will be held on March 18.