Kremlin signals Vladimir Putin will claim landslide Russian election victory

Government says turnout is highest in history but thousands of voters protest against deepening dictatorship

• Last day of Russia’s presidential election – live updates

The Kremlin has signalled that Vladimir Putin will claim a landslide victory in Russia’s presidential vote, as thousands in the country and around the world protested against his deepening dictatorship, the war in Ukraine and a stage-managed election that could have only one winner.

Putin won 87% of the vote, according to exit polling published by the state-run pollsters Russian Public Opinion Research Center and the Public Opinion Foundation. After counting 26.74% of the votes, Russia’s electoral commission claimed Putin was leading with 88% of the vote. In second place was the Communist party candidate Nikolai Kharitonov.