Russians have begun voting in a presidential poll seen by critics as rigged to hand almost certain victory to Vladimir Putin's favoured candidate, Dmitry Medvedev.
Voting began on the Pacific coast of the world's biggest country and was to roll 12,000km west to Moscow and on to the Baltic Sea territory of Kaliningrad to close at 6pm Irish time tomorrow.
Mr Medvedev faces three challengers, but his overwhelming victory was almost a foregone conclusion after a campaign in which Russia's heavily censored television networks rammed home the message that he is Mr Putin's anointed successor.
Opinion polls predict Mr Medvedev, currently first deputy premier and head of gas monopoly Gazprom, will win at least 60% of the poll.
None of the other candidates, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, populist nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky and the almost unknown Andrei Bogdanov, presents a serious challenge.
At 42, Mr Medvedev reflects a new generation of post-Soviet politicians in one of the world's biggest energy exporters and a major nuclear power. Unlike Mr Putin and most of his allies, Mr Medvedev has no KGB or other security service background.
However, Mr Medvedev says his main goal is to follow Mr Putin's course and he is set to install his mentor as prime minister.
The power-sharing formula suggests that Mr Putin, 55, will continue to dominate the political scene well beyond Mr Medvedev's likely inauguration in May.
Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International and Russian election monitoring agency Golos said the Kremlin had stage-managed the contest through media bias, pressure on regional leaders, and use of state resources.
The main European election monitoring body, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), boycotted the vote altogether, citing restrictions on its monitors.
