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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Russians vote for new president | Russians vote for new president |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Voting is under way in Russia's presidential poll, bringing to a close Vladimir Putin's eight years in office. | Voting is under way in Russia's presidential poll, bringing to a close Vladimir Putin's eight years in office. |
| Polling stations in the Far East opened at 0800 (2000 GMT Saturday), in a vote pitting Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev against three challengers. | Polling stations in the Far East opened at 0800 (2000 GMT Saturday), in a vote pitting Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev against three challengers. |
| If elected, Mr Medvedev, the Kremlin's preferred candidate, has promised to make Mr Putin his prime minister. | If elected, Mr Medvedev, the Kremlin's preferred candidate, has promised to make Mr Putin his prime minister. |
| Saturday was declared an official "day of silence" with no campaigning allowed across Russia's 11 time zones. | Saturday was declared an official "day of silence" with no campaigning allowed across Russia's 11 time zones. |
| The other candidates are Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, Liberal Democrat Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Democratic Party candidate Andrei Bogdanov. | The other candidates are Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, Liberal Democrat Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Democratic Party candidate Andrei Bogdanov. |
| More than 109 million Russians are registered to vote in the elections. | More than 109 million Russians are registered to vote in the elections. |
| Voting closes in the western outpost of Kaliningrad at 1800 GMT on Sunday. | |
| Apathy | Apathy |
| The BBC's Richard Galpin in Vladivostock says the big question is how many people will bother voting. | The BBC's Richard Galpin in Vladivostock says the big question is how many people will bother voting. |
| There was barely any campaigning by any of the candidates and there is little excitement amongst the electorate about this election, he says. | There was barely any campaigning by any of the candidates and there is little excitement amongst the electorate about this election, he says. |
| The reason - because everybody is assuming they already know what the result will be, he adds. | The reason - because everybody is assuming they already know what the result will be, he adds. |
| There will be very little scrutiny of voting by Western election observers. | There will be very little scrutiny of voting by Western election observers. |
| The main European election monitoring body - from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) - decided not to send a delegation. | The main European election monitoring body - from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) - decided not to send a delegation. |
| It said the Russian authorities were planning to impose unacceptable restrictions on its work. | It said the Russian authorities were planning to impose unacceptable restrictions on its work. |