Vladimir Putin has been re-elected as Russia President for another six years after polling 73.9 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election.
Putin contested against seven other candidates, but his most vocal critic Alexei Navalny was barred for legal reasons and the outcome is in little doubt.
About 107 million Russians are eligible to cast ballots and turnout was nearly 60 percent an hour before polls closed in Moscow at 1700 GMT, according to figures displayed in the central electoral commission information centre.
Authorities have pulled out all the stops to boost participation, with selfie competitions, cheap or free food and entertainers organising games for children at polling stations.
Employees of state and private companies have reported coming under pressure to vote, while students have been threatened with problems in their exams or even expulsion if they do not take part, according to the opposition-leaning Novaya Gazeta newspaper.
