Medvedev won 70 percent of Russian presidential vote

Communist Party chief Gennady Zyuganov trailed with nearly 18, while ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky followed with more than 9 percent and little-known candidate Andrei Bogdanov captured more than 1 percent, Churov said. Turnout in Sunday’s election was about 70 percent. Medvedev’s landslide victory was virtually assured by a blessing from Vladimir Putin, the popular incumbent who said he would retain clout by becoming Medvedev’s prime minister. The election was tainted by lopsided state media coverage favoring Medvedev and accounts of pressure on voters. Across Russia, voters say they were pushed, cajoled and pressured to cast ballots as part of a Kremlin campaign to ensure a strong victory for Putin’s protege. In a symbolic show of trust more than two months before Medvedev’s inauguration May 7, Putin put him in charge of presidential State Council meetings.

The move was apparently intended to underline that they will rule together and boost Medvedev’s authority in the eyes of officials at the body’s meetings -- and the ordinary Russians who see them on television news programs. While Medvedev is widely expected to heed Putin’s guidance, the vast powers of the Russian presidency may tempt him to step out of his mentor’s shadow. Putin captured about 53 percent of the vote in 2000 and won a second four-year term in 2004 with more than 71 percent in 2004, just above Medvedev’s result. But the turnout in these elections -- 60 and 64 percent, respectively -- was significantly lower than a hefty 70 percent on Sunday. US President George W. Bush spoke by telephone to Medvedev on Tuesday and congratulated him on his election as president, Russian news agencies reported. "The two agreed to continue the tradition of a mutually trustful, fair and open dialogue that existed between Putin and George Bush and which was key to the development of Russian-US ties," the agencies said, citing Medvedev's office.