Russia's president election day ended at 9 pm Moscow time on Sunday, with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin expectedly winning, as he gathered 61.78%  according to preliminary results.

Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov finished second, gathering 17.89%. Head of the Liberal Democratic Party Vladimir Zhirinovsky won 7.93% , while independent candidate Mikhail Prokhorov came fourth with 7.57%, according to data released by ORT.

Officials say turnout was higher than for the last election in 2008. Opposition groups have reported widespread violations, with many people voting more than once, BBC says.

In the fall of 2011, current Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and PM Vladimir Putin agreed to swap positions after presidential elections at a forum of the United Russia party Putin chairs.

In the months preceding the polls, Russia was grappled by the most wide-spread anti-establishment protests in its modern history, with tens of thousands marching in major cities. Those rallies were answered with counter-rallies of tens of thousands supporting the policies of Putin and United Russia.

Putin, 59, will be inaugurated as new president in May and will serve for six years, not four as previously.

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