Hundreds of Russian drivers are circling central Moscow to demand that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin allow free elections in Russia.

Cars festooned with white balloons and ribbons traveled along the Garden Ring, a 16-kilometer loop around the Kremlin.

The Sunday protest comes two weeks before the presidential election that Mr. Putin is expected to win.

Mr. Putin became prime minister after serving as president from 2000 to 2008. This past September, he announced he planned to run for president again in the March 4 election, swapping places with current President Dmitry Medvedev.

His candidacy has sparked some of the biggest demonstrations since the fall of the old Soviet Union.