Navalny tells Russians to sabotage upcoming elections

MOSCOW, Aug 19 (Reuters) -Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Thursday told Russians to take part in a tactical voting campaign at next month's parliamentary elections to try to dent the ruling United Russia party's political dominance.

The campaign, which asks people to vote for specific candidates judged to have the best chance of defeating the United Russia candidate in any given area, is one of the last levers Navalny and his allies have after a crackdown this summer outlawed his movement as "extremist".

His own allies are banned from taking part, and United Russia, which supports President Vladimir Putin, is expected to win the Sept. 17-19 election despite a prolonged slump in its own popularity.

Navalny hopes to reduce United Russia's margin of victory however, and to cause it potential embarrassment in places like Moscow and St Petersburg where anti-Kremlin feeling has traditionally run higher.