Vladimir Putin has claimed victory in the Russian presidential elections as exit polls project the autocrat has won more than 87 per cent of the rigged vote.
Speaking at his campaign headquarters, Mr Putin thanked those who voted for him and expressed “special gratitude to our warriors on the line of contact”, referring to the soldiers fighting in the war in Ukraine.
He also claimed that the result showed that Russia was building a “common will of the people”.
His victory speech, one that was certain to happen even before voting took place, came hours after thousands of protesters headed to polling stations at midday for the “Noon Against Putin” protests.
Among those present at the protests in Berlin was Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny.
In a message after the event - she said she wrote her husband’s name on her ballot paper, submitted to the Russian embassy in the German capital - she thanked all those that came out in support of the opposition.
“The real winner of Russia’s ‘election’ today -- Yulia Navalnaya,” said Michael McFaul, the former US ambassador to Russia.