Russia's RTS index (RU:RTS) +1.57% rose 1.2% to 1,747.85 in early trading on Monday, after Vladimir Putin reportedly secured 63.7% of the votes in Russian presidential elections. According to media reports quoting the Central Election Commission, more than 99% of the ballots have been counted, as they declared him a winner in a landslide victory. Opponents Gennady Zyuganov scored 17.2% of the votes and Mikhail Prokhorov won 7.87%. Russian 24/7 English-language news channel RT said exit polls showed 58.3% of Russians cast their votes for Putin, but several media reports such as this also said there had been several reported violations. Media reports said 30,000 people are expected to attend a "Russia Without Putin" protest in Moscow Monday evening. Opponents such as Zyuganov say he manipulated the results to win, a charge that Putin denies.
