٠٠:٠٦:١١Presidential candidate and incumbent head of state Vladimir Putin said he 'dreamed of a strong, independent and sovereign Russia' while commenting on the preliminary results of the election in Moscow on Sunday.
"I dreamed of a strong, independent and sovereign Russia, and I hope that the results of the vote will allow us all, together with the Russian people, to pursue these goals," he stated.
He also reacted to reports of the 'noon against Putin' protests, in which opposition groups called on voters to attend polling stations at that time to show their 'dissent'.
"I was told that there were calls to come and vote at midday - that should have been a manifestation of opposition. Well, if there were calls to come to vote - for that, as I say in such cases, I praise you," the politician joked.
According to the Central Election Commission, after processing 80 percent of ballots, incumbent President Vladimir Putin was leading with 87.15 percent of the vote. At time of publication, the preliminary voter turnout for the presidential election was 74.22 percent, including remote electronic voting.
Russia's presidential election took place over three days on March 15-17, with early voting between February 25 and March 14.
The four candidates were Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), the Communist Party's Nikolai Kharitonov, Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party and Putin, running as an independent candidate.
'I dreamed of a strong, independent and sovereign Russia' - Putin
Presidential candidate and incumbent head of state Vladimir Putin said he 'dreamed of a strong, independent and sovereign Russia' while commenting on the preliminary results of the election in Moscow on Sunday.
"I dreamed of a strong, independent and sovereign Russia, and I hope that the results of the vote will allow us all, together with the Russian people, to pursue these goals," he stated.
He also reacted to reports of the 'noon against Putin' protests, in which opposition groups called on voters to attend polling stations at that time to show their 'dissent'.
"I was told that there were calls to come and vote at midday - that should have been a manifestation of opposition. Well, if there were calls to come to vote - for that, as I say in such cases, I praise you," the politician joked.
According to the Central Election Commission, after processing 80 percent of ballots, incumbent President Vladimir Putin was leading with 87.15 percent of the vote. At time of publication, the preliminary voter turnout for the presidential election was 74.22 percent, including remote electronic voting.
Russia's presidential election took place over three days on March 15-17, with early voting between February 25 and March 14.
The four candidates were Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), the Communist Party's Nikolai Kharitonov, Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party and Putin, running as an independent candidate.
Presidential candidate and incumbent head of state Vladimir Putin said he 'dreamed of a strong, independent and sovereign Russia' while commenting on the preliminary results of the election in Moscow on Sunday.
"I dreamed of a strong, independent and sovereign Russia, and I hope that the results of the vote will allow us all, together with the Russian people, to pursue these goals," he stated.
He also reacted to reports of the 'noon against Putin' protests, in which opposition groups called on voters to attend polling stations at that time to show their 'dissent'.
"I was told that there were calls to come and vote at midday - that should have been a manifestation of opposition. Well, if there were calls to come to vote - for that, as I say in such cases, I praise you," the politician joked.
According to the Central Election Commission, after processing 80 percent of ballots, incumbent President Vladimir Putin was leading with 87.15 percent of the vote. At time of publication, the preliminary voter turnout for the presidential election was 74.22 percent, including remote electronic voting.
Russia's presidential election took place over three days on March 15-17, with early voting between February 25 and March 14.
The four candidates were Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), the Communist Party's Nikolai Kharitonov, Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party and Putin, running as an independent candidate.