1 - Vladimir Putin reclaimed the presidency Sunday in a landslide victory, winning more than 64 percent of the vote, according to early results. But widespread allegations of fraud suggested that the prime minister faces a difficult comeback to the Kremlin.

"I promised you we would win. We have won. Glory to Russia," Putin told thousands of supporters in a tearful address on Manezh Square late Sunday. "We won in an open and fair struggle."
 
2 - Voter turnout was at 58 percent as of 7 p.m., according to the Central Elections Commission. Notably, the highest turnout was reported in Chechnya at 94 percent.
 
Communist Party boss Gennady Zyuganov came second with 17.14 percent, followed by  billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov with 7.4 percent.  Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky scored 6.25 percent, while Sergei Mironov of A Just Russia finished last with a disappointing 3.8 percent.
 
3 - Sunday's results showed a marked decrease for Putin from the 71 percent he took in 2004, when he won his second term in office. The turnout then was 64.3 percent. But it was significantly higher than the 49 percent his United Russia party collected in the State Duma election in December.

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The Moscow Times