Vladimir Putin is set to tighten his grip on power with another six-year term as Russian president, after a brutally distorted election in which any challenge to his dominance was wiped out before voting even began.
The first official results announced on Sunday by Russian state media indicate that Putin received 88 percent of the vote.
This developing story is being updated. Denis Leven is hosted at POLITICO under the EU-funded EU4FreeMedia residency program.