. 8.56am: Good morning. Vladimir Putin has claimed victory in the Russian presidential election, with exit polls giving him 58.3% of the vote. We'll be following the latest reaction as well as providing updates on the planned opposition protests.
Opposition activists have reacted furiously, claiming the vote was marred by widespread election fraud. The election took place against a backdrop of large demonstrations against Putin - the biggest since the fall of the USSR - and thousands of protesters are due to take to the streets today to express their discontent with the result.
Putin has denied the allegations of voter fraud, with Stanislav Govorukhin, his campaign chief, proclaiming: |