This just in, yawn. We will do a more comedic approach for the broader audience, but this one is straightforward. Preliminary results indicate a huge victory for Vladimir Putin, but “thousands protest at polling stations and Russian embassies worldwide.

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Putin’s victory was never in doubt | Pool photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AFP via Getty Images

De DENIS LEVEN

BRUSSELS — Vladimir Putin tightened his grip on power, claiming another six-year term as Russian president after a brutally distorted election in which all serious challengers were wiped out before voting began.

With 50 percent of ballots counted, Putin’s tally stood at 87.3 percent of the vote, election officials announced. Turnout was 73.33 percent, according to the latest figures from Russian authorities.

Putin’s victory was never in doubt but this is the biggest share of the vote he has claimed in any of his five presidential election wins since his first in 2000. At 71, he is already the longest serving Russian leader since Papa Josef Stalin. and could go on to beat that record.

An official celebration is scheduled for later today, and the Security Services have been asked to contribute to an accurate count of all ballots, including those mailed from California.

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