Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's website blocked by regulator before election

FILE PHOTO: Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny takes part in a rally to mark the 5th anniversary of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov's murder and to protest against proposed amendments to the country's constitution, in Moscow, Russia February 29, 2020. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian authorities blocked access to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's website on Monday in the run-up to a parliamentary election, their latest attempt to sideline his allies cast by the Kremlin as U.S.-backed trouble-makers.

The move, the latest chapter in a long-running crackdown on President Vladimir Putin's most prominent domestic opponent, also blocked the websites inside Russia of 48 other individuals and organisations affiliated with Navalny.