Vladimir Putin is proclaimed the winner with 87% of the votes, on his way to becoming the country's longest-serving leader. Putin, who came to power in 1999, has won a new six-year term.
The Kremlin was looking for a broad victory to present as Russian support for the war, but it also wanted a high turnout as legitimization of a personalist regime with no alternatives. Some Russians set fire to voting booths and poured anise into ballot boxes, prompting threats from Russian officials.