Moscow: Polling stations across Russia have opened as the presidential election gets under way, here on Sunday.
Presidential election is expected to sweep Vladimir Putin back into the Kremlin for another six-year term after he was barred by the constitution from standing for a third consecutive term as prime minister.
Apart from Putin, candidates in the election are Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, Head of the Liberal Democratic Party Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Sergei Mironov from A Just Russia, and independent candidate Mikhail Prokhorov.
In the fall of 2011, current Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and PM Vladimir Putin agreed to swap positions after presidential elections at a forum of the United Russia party Putin chairs.
In the months preceding the polls, Russia was grappled by the most wide-spread anti-establishment protests in its modern history, with tens of thousands marching in major cities. Those rallies were answered with counter-rallies of tens of thousands supporting the policies of Putin and United Russia.
Opinion polls ahead of elections predict some 50-60% for Putin, which means a victory at the first round.
Although he is believed to be the certain winner of the race, not winning at the first round will mean an unconvincing result and blow for Putin.
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