The first results indicate that Putin obtains almost 88% of the votes in Russia. With this victory, Putin would secure six more years in a fifth term.
The elections took place in a very controlled environment in which Putin only competes against three symbolic rivals and any criticism against the president or his occupation of Ukraine is silenced. Putin's bitterest political rival, Alexei Navalny, died in a Siberian prison last month, and other critics of his regime are in jail or in exile.