used to be head of the upper house of the russian parliament and also we have russian tycoon mikhail prokhorov somewhat of a dark horse in this particular presidential campaign he's a newcomer to politics and it's the first time he's running as president also seen by many experts says the most as one of the likely candidates to make it into the second round runoff should it happen in fact it's the main intrigue of this presidential race whether it would be able to garner more than fifty percent of the votes that is in fact fifty percent plus one vote and thus gain

mikhail prokhorov has only recently appeared on russia's political stage but according to his supporters this has actually been to his advantage we talked to the head of prokhorov media group and he says that the billionaire represents a younger more ambitious generation. he is new to symbolize the new rules for the new russia and some to be sure to be absolutely new and fresh in comparison to the soviet union and all the other candidates. and put in as well so. from the old stylish. summit elite. and. they're not you know any more leaders of the younger generation michael crawford is sells me. he's ambitious he's cold and i think this is the new russia we all dream of well. on the on ten we we can slow very strong candidate michael call for a lot on the other hand be careful not to moderate the group it's not enough to moderate. and people really choose therefore community just to say no you can't. leave gold for anybody and they trust more than you to the thinking properly i think some of them were voting for zyuganov. despite prokhorov undeniable business credentials some foreign exec

they say that killing us that's right and we did hear from mikhail prokhorov earlier in the evening if he still can get in about an hour's time we'll bring you the latest in that he did say he just a guy that he plans to study need let's go party state there's plenty as will be remembered probably be a much movement even if he doesn't win tonight in each. gifts are a first glimpse of the thoughts from nicole profile of companies like you in moscow much appreciated right so. you're only trying to get a hold of. somebody in that simply this berkeley person of the same petersburg line ferry company. we couldn't get hold of him i gather we can't know pizza in school or can you hear a six kind of an ode in moscow here just to explain to our viewers you're a finnish xstrata vice pres you think pizza the ferry company either certainly him either star. yes i can hear you are not i guess but not like a street yesterday but if you had your say about who will rule russia for the next six years they want you voted for and why i'm interested to know i'll pose this question to last of course be a go

the communist party leader with a little more than seventeen percent also the russian tycoon mikhail prokhorov the newcomer to russian politics the first time presidential candidate stands at seven point eight percent and the other two candidates the liberal democratic party leader. at six point two and russia party leaders there gave it all of that three point eight so definitely such a large margin between putin and zyuganov certainly means that putin will win in the very first round of the presidential vote certainly something a little bit unexpected but nevertheless putin has been a clear favorite in this race it was only a matter of whether there would be a second round runoff or not now late in the night on sunday he could address a hundred thousand strong crowd in moskos city said right next to the kremlin walls speaking on how delighted he was with the victory and praising the support that he is people that those who voted for him provided in this election let's listen to what the prime minister had to say. all right we have one in an unfair battle but this wasn't just an election of t

talking to the crowd including third placed candidates in the presidential election russian tycoon mikhail prokhorov the new comer to the politics everything was peaceful and the crowd in fact started to disperse started to leave the pushkin square square it's about two kilometers from where i'm standing in such almost right now until one of the opposition figures have killed it's off said that he would not leave the square and to put in steps down several hundred to sunday school and organized a city protest in one of the fountains in the square certainly and the operational fountain that was the right police as we understand urged them to leave the square to vacate it because the time they had sanctioned for the rally was running out and the the rally was officially over but the people refused to leave they were chanting slogans and the right police had to use force to disperse the crowd from the square we understand that two hundred fifty people were detained including some opposition figures very popular opposition figures like the idea yes and i said they were all detained but later as far as w

up at the polling stations to cast their ballots some of one of the presidential candidates mikhail prokhorov has already cast their ballot early in the morning in his hometown in the region of course they asked region and we certainly expect the other presidential hopefuls to cast their ballot throughout the day in moscow certainly a very interesting day ahead of us we'll be bringing you the first exit poll results when the polling stations close across the country around nine pm more school time and please follow our extensive coverage to have all the latest details on how russia is electing its new president or indeed and we've seen a number of rallies though both against out in support of the current russian leadership in the run up to the election how of people been voicing their opinions on that front. well there is certainly have been very turbulent three or four months for russia ever since the election in december the fourth something deemed by many bloggers by many people just on the streets as falsified tens of thousands of people hit to the streets something unprecedented for russ

nets mikhail prokhorov whose story ended in siberia.e think procter & gamble was sent to the game by the kremlin to make things look democratic or pull votes away from the communist. he denied that and says victory or not, he is here to stay. >> regardless of whether or not i will, i will make a new party based on opinions in civil society. >> they don't expect change here overnight but say it's coming. they fear no more. and want to see the russian bear take a fake bold leap forward. smashing censorship once and for all. in moscow, amy kellogg, fox news. >> bret: two more american soldiers are killed in afghanistan over the quran burning. we'll get reaction from the fox all-stars when we come back. >>> the reason that it was important is the same reason that a chander on the ground, general allen apologized. to save lives. and make sure our troops who are there right now are not placed in further danger. >> it's hard to tell, isn't it? think it has improved the pathology? calmed it down. not out of the woods yet. >> bret: for the third

changes stretching as far as how parties are registered and who can be on the ballots all of garc mikhail prokhorov has garnered vast media coverage as the only candidate not treat that by a party in the duma his message is business orientated but he's often been hindered by a shady past and has struggled to resonate with the public twitter it and other social media have been crucial for all ghanaians in demonstrations and embodies the very public and spontaneous nature of some of the opera felt around russia he stands for election commission the ruling body overseeing voting day is head bellamy tour of has been in the spotlight after allegations of electoral fraud were met with inaction this is force the brevity a buzzword for prime minister vladimir putin's campaign so far seen by many as someone who restored economic order years of hardship the power of this was resonates just how to popular man still is. testing despite his popularity it's been a difficult period for bradley in a two term president not used to such discontent. moscow and st petersburg and the big cities that really only these a

reported is that dark horse of this election of the special election complaints russian tycoon mikhail prokhorov who in many ways represents the middle class middle class certainly was the largest chunk of the dissenting crowds in the cities across the whole country. of also stands a very good chance according to many analysts to be that way as you do now but even if we can shoot a second round run off it happened to the other two candidates according to opinions they stand very little chance they have a very slim chance of making it into the potential second round runoff this is certainly the head of the liberal democratic party who also like just like you know he's going to has been at most of the complaints of presidential candidates all throughout the more than history of russia now a very eccentric man with a very unusual style in his complains and he's also running this time despite that some say that this may well be his last campaign for presidency and blue. also last but not least we have to get in on the the head of the fair russia france he also the former head of the upper house of t

stretching as far as how parties are registered and who can be on the ballots over all agog mikhail prokhorov has garnered vast media coverage as the only candidate not sweet backed by a party in a duma his message is business orientated but he has often been hindered by a shady past and has struggled to resonate with the public twitter feed and other social media have been crucial for all denies the demonstrations as important as the very public and spontaneous nature of some of the opera felt around russia he stands for election commission the ruling body overseeing voting day is headed by the nature of has been in the spotlight after allegations of electoral fraud or met with an action this is force the pretty a buzzword for prime minister vladimir putin's campaign so far seen by many who restored order years of hardship the power of this. was it resonates just how top kill a man still is. testing. his pick. if we were going to be a two term president not used to such discontent moscow and st petersburg and the big cities that really only that these are not really his territory anymore i m

stretching as far as how parties are registered and who can be on the ballots over is for oligarch mikhail prokhorov has gone advanced media coverage and is the only candidate not to be backed by a party in the duma owner of n.b.a. team the new jersey nets and netting an estimated eighteen billion dollars he said by far the most cash to splash in his campaign is message is business orientated police officer stood out for his riches a murky past struggling to resonate with public twitter and other social media have been crucial for organizing demonstrations embodies the very public and spontaneous nature of some of the opera felt around russia he stands for election commission the ruling body overseeing voting day its head planning nature of has been in the spotlight after allegations of electoral fraud were met with an action this is forced the beneath the a buzzword for prime minister vladimir putin's campaign so far seen by many as one who restored economic order a theist of hardship the power of this was resonates just how popular man still is testing despite his popularity has been difficult her

opposition in russia is very diverse it has its like a coin with two faces on the one hand we have mikhail prokhorov willing to have this dialogue with those with power on the other hand we have the radicals like a volley about. who are openly supporting escalation of the conflict and the growing force of the street protests in russia my colleague the actual the did and insightful report with all the latest information on how the opposition looks in modern day russia. you might think there are two types of post-election rallies those by the wiener and less jubilant ones by the defeated opposition but if you look closely at russia's political scene these days you see how sharp the opposition itself was keyed into two ranks. the vertical of power in our country develops well within the civil society initiated from below concrete and there's no political competition here is the official opposition defeated candidates meeting with the winner he says residence the morning off to the vote criticizing the kremlin and here's one. may seem similar but in fact a very different rattray from the unofficial stre

lot of financial security in a leader a leader with a strong high for that sort of thing now mikhail prokhorov is listed in forbes as having eighteen billion dollars with holdings in gold aluminum and of course the new jersey nets he's the only he's the first foreign owner of an n.b.a. basketball team in history and he's also got many nonprofit and never says well focusing mostly on cultural diversification across russia he sounded the mikail procure a fund in two thousand and four to work on that and it's done a lot of good things for a lot of young people in this country especially with like i said cultural diversification and even the arts now aside from that he's his eight percent of the vote means he's now got a solid political foundation so he made the announcement he will be starting his own his own political party and possibly in the coming years maybe running for president but that of course will be decided by through his own party when the time comes out in a phone conversation with bloody murder putin last night of hussein actually congratulated him on his how decisive. number is a

liberal democratic party with seven point eight percent and independent candidate billionaire mikhail prokhorov is now getting seven point five percent of revote it's definitely have big tree for a newcomer to the politics he only announced that he would be running for presidency several months ago now the last one on the list as candidate from a just russia party said give me your all in the fates you second election which is trying to get the country stop drop and he's getting only three point seven percent of the vote now with so many observers participating in this year's election we understand it will take longer for those observers to put signatures and final protocols to seal official results and these election definitely sets a record in terms of being the most expensive and the most closely monitored if you want the most transparent in the country's history and all over all of over. three hundred million dollars have been spent on installing web cameras very expensive says if you work across the country also there were transparent ballot boxes installed at all polling stations and a re

want any change which is the road to nowhere the change manifested itself in the sudden rise of mikhail prokhorov in under four months the russian billionaire managed to persuade more than five million people to vote for him many say this new face in the country spall ticks has serious potential and broker have already declared an intention to form an opposition party with putin promising he would cooperate with it to symbolize the new the new russia is some dishes and other candidates. from the old stylish solid elite. they're not you know. anymore leaders of the younger generation and figures speak for themselves second place community leaders you've grown of gauge seventeen percent in his fifth presidency less than he's already had earned a column entry vote and experts say even this came mostly as protest voting in the eyes of many this is a clear signal it's time for french politicians to make way in the western countries if a party loses the election its leader is no friend changed if it happens again and he's definitely changed these guys had lost three times prior to this a lot of those f

some people disappointed some people looking for some new faces and that's for a sofa no no for mikhail prokhorov is a result of that i think putin did the best book you could do in current situations and i think what he did was he worked very hard i would say first time with his political life he campaigned so far he put together very first the style of campaign particularly the last two months and i think partly his victory is there is a lot of is a very strong campaign do you think that this protest movement some precedents that movement against funding of groups and basically it is going to gain more momentum as we see people come out in the streets. first of all i think it's very healthy. people expressing their opinion and i think it's very healthy for put it to issues a book everybody agreed to see what some people don't want to be a leader for i think it's healthy i think it's good if you will be able to be unifying. people i think the protests will go down if you will be divided there if you will start to do right by russian political hospital even because i'm just now going to i think r

of monday showed once again the two faces off the russian opposition on the one hand we have mikhail prokhorov a very wealthy man the newcomer to russian politics who is willing to have a dialogue with those in power and is willing to build a new political force in russia who could be successful over the next four to six years and all the other hand we have radical people such as a popular blogger in russia who are openly standing for ask elation of the cold feet and for a rising at the protest movement in russia my colleague getting a great show over did a very insightful report on what the opposition now looks like in russia. you might think there are two types of post-election rallies those by the winner and less jubilant ones by the defeated opposition but if you look closely at russia's political scene these days you'll see how sharp the opposition itself was split into two ranks. the vertical of power in our country could help slow then the civil society initiated from below the country shows i'm told and there's no political competition here's the official opposition defeated candidates

promised that united russia policy and personally will cooperate with mikhail prokhorov the movement should he decide eventually to launch east political party yesterday's events monday's events showed once again how diverse the russian opposition is so the one hand we have. who wants to build a dialogue with the authorities who wants to launch his own political movement on the other hand we have the likes of alexey nobody who openly openly supports escalating call thing and says that the protests in russia must mounds now my colleague between the gretsch over did a report on how the presence of russian opposition looks like and let's have a look at this report. you might think there are two types of post-election rallies those by the wiener and less jubilant ones by the defeated opposition but if you look closely at russia's political scene these days you see how sharp the opposition itself was split into two ranks. the vertical of power in our country develops well within the civil society initiated from below concrete those on top and there's no political competition here's the of

of the potential second one runoff he is the dark horse of the selections the russian tycoon mikhail prokhorov. he's a newcomer to politics and now he's never run before for the presidency also very interesting many experts have been trying to guess what he is running for president is all about the other two candidates have little chance of making to the second round still they're running the very eccentric leader the leader of the liberal democratic party but even as you know steve known for his very harsh nationalists and somewhat nationalist rhetoric and very eccentric. actions during his election campaigns and the other candidate is the leader of the player russia party so given all of who used to be head of the upper house of the russian parliament also running for presidency for the third time. ok we'll leave it there for our correspondent thank you for that. so a five candidates are in the running for russia's top topic or about them but i want to come they will find their election from the. says that political backgrounds analysis of their careers so far. this special election page. as

people disappointed some people looking for some new faces and that's for a so-so moment of mikhail prokhorov is a result of that i think. did the best book you could do in the current situation and i think what he did he worked very hard i would say first time of his political life he campaigned so far he put together very first style of campaign particularly last for months and i think partly his victory is a result of his very strong campaign do you think that this protest movement some precedents that movement against letting it loose and basically it is going to gain more momentum as we see people come out in the street. first of all i think it's very healthy. people expressing their opinion and i think it's very healthy for him to seize it got everybody agree to see what some people don't want him to be a leader for action i think it's healthy i think it's good if he will be able to be unifying. people i think the protests will go down if he will be divided there if he will start with the right. political spectrum even because i'm just now going to think real quick because we're. our co

cabinet will have to be filled by some new faces and perhaps the newest face in russian politics mikhail prokhorov the man who actually beat in sunday's election the billionaire owner of the new jersey nets n.b.a. basketball team made his billions in the in the metals markets he isn't affiliated to any political party at the moment he did say he would be looking to start his own party it seems to me it has left the door open for. perhaps joy in his govern. place in the cabinet there so that's all going to rely on the talks that happen between now and taking over as president who's going to fill those crucial spots in the cabinet there eventually comes the takeover in the top seat as president peed all over of moscow so despite the fact that more than forty five million russians voted for printed this show of support still being dismissed by some countries two former top british diplomat david miliband didn't mince his words when it came to the election results criticism some political commentators describe as ironic at best ideas of a bennett's got the story. a ruthless dictator who's days are num

the us a saturday night he's gone of the leader of the communist party also a russian tycoon mikhail prokhorov and you convert to politics some someone many people describe him as somewhat of a dark horse in this presidency of the presidential campaign he's also seen as one of the potential candidates to make it into the second round runoff and challenge but which in that there are also other two candidates the one i've already mentioned the head of the liberal democratic party very eccentric man eccentric in both his stances somewhat nationalist stances of times and in his view the manner of his behavior also a for a veteran of all the election campaigns in russia and also we have seen again that all of the head of the player russia party and former chairman of the upper house of the russian parliament also running for this election but. basically experts and analysts say that the latter two have little chance of making it through to the second round so if the second round happens the certainly will be a very big intrigue on who will be russia's next president. ok do keep us updated our corre

some people disappoint some people looking for some new faces and that's for a sofa no no for mikhail prokhorov is a result of that i think. it's the best book you could do in the current situation i think what he did he worked very hard i would say first time with his political life campaign so far he put together very first style of campaign perfectly last few months and i think partly his victory is there is a lot of is very strong something do you think that this protest movement some precedents that movement against funding of groups and basically is going to gain more momentum so as we see people come out in the street. first of all i think it's going to kill fifty. people expressing their opinion and i think it's very healthy for putin who sees it that everybody agreed to see what some people go into and seem to be. really there for i think it's healthy i think it's good if he'll be able to be a unifier you know for people i think the president still goes out if he will be devised there if he will start to do right. political hospital he will be present to the south and i think we'll sha

stretching as far as how parties are registered and who can be on the ballots is for oligarch mikhail prokhorov has garnered bars media coverage and is the only candidate not to be backed by a party in a duma owner of n.b.a. team the new jersey nets and netting an estimated eighteen billion dollars these are by far the most cash dispassionate campaign is message is business orientated often stood out for his riches and murky past struggling to resonate with the public twitter it and other social media have been crucial for all denies him demonstrations as embodies the very public and spontaneous nature of some of the opera felt around russia he stands for election commission a ruling body overseeing voting day its head bellamy a chair of has been in the spotlight after allegations of electoral fraud or met with inaction this is course the gravity a buzzword for prime. putin's campaign so far. merely assad who restored economic order after years of hardship the power of this worst resume see just how popular man still is. testing despite his popularity it's been a difficult period for them to be

second with this seventeen point one percent i should say and next in third place is the tycoon mikhail prokhorov with seven point eight percent because russia's most important protection and yet the head of the liberal democratic party you know he was fourth with six point three percent and lost in place as the just russia party leader and again the runoff with three point nine percent of the votes those official declaration have just come in. well there we can head back now to the let's see. what's the reaction been from the observers to the measures put in place to enable these these fair elections. well we are yet to learn whether this particular election has indeed become the most transparent in russia's history as we've heard of some irregularities in the course of the voting and my call e.j. good grief so we'll tell you more about these irregularities on the violations which are going to court a little later on in the bulletin make sure you stay tuned for that but certainly this election was deemed to be the most transparent and given the amount of effort which was directed at making this

and the other, billionaire industrialist mikhail prokhorov was widely rumored to be a criminal lynn plantt the opposition vote. to counterfears of ballot box stuffing and other election rigging, web cameras were installed in the more than 90,000 polling places as election organizers r of the election commissions at the local level. so it was not a good report card. >> reporter: election observers say they did witness irregularities at this vote but probably fewer of them. perhaps that's because vladimir putin was so far ahead in opinion polls he didn't need to cheat. he remains a popular figure in much of russia and was seen as the candidate of stability. the only suspense here has been over the size of the victory margin. in the end, the putin vote was put at just upwards of 63%, large enough for an absolute majority but not so large that he can be accused of massive vote rigging. it's about 10 points down on its last time he ran. still the arguments don't matter. vladimir putin is the one and future president of russia. >> jeff: mark phillips in moskow, mark, thank you. ahead here it is

happen then his party the united party will definitely call parade with the new movement of mikhail prokhorov the russian billionaire it's also the newcomer to politics and a first time presidential candidate now is the ground of as i've said refused to come to this meeting and i'd like to remind our viewers that. scored almost forty five percent more than zyuganov standing at sixty three percent sixty three point six percent of the presidential election with this you've got of being at seventeen points to nevertheless still believe the vote is illegitimate and he's planning to hold a rally in moscow to support that claim last night in fact putin had a rally of his supporters of his own and a hundred thousand crowd was cheered by the prime minister he was very emotional thanking the people for their support and delighted with the fact that he has managed to achieve the victory in the very first round of the vote. we have won in the open and fear but this wasn't just the election. the president it was a test of political maturity and independence and we have shown that nobody can impose anythi

recent public statements including if yourself as well as another major shareholder of rosol mikhail prokhorov or were there slowly hoffner all snake all sleep basically. wrecks oberg both fear of the seal of the real cycles the birth of a company power or the control. shareholder i learned that if i ask a resistor and i think there that there's a real court order for there to serve resignation. i can now he has said that the company is a in a deep crisis now do you go along with that considering that the company's managed to restructure their debts up until now he just saying that sort of throwing his russians out of the power as it were is that the case. i'm sorry move over clear believes of your agree with back so bad that the company even deep crisis as he says would you go along with that. world are i don't think about so very silverstein of the company isn't the crisis karmas serve as a relief from to the extent that he would serve the higher it's kind of financial leverage burb the fibers so mostly a financial lever of stock in the russian metals and mining space is not getting used for

my left shoulder is a stage where speeches i'll be given out in just a few moments ago we saw mikhail prokhorov the presidential candidate who was defeated by vladimir putin on sunday night and he came out there no peace thanks everybody that it voted for him he does say it's well known that this wasn't the end of his political journey that he stood as an independent candidate in his loan said that he wasn't elected as president that he would form a political party that statement from the stage and said that he would continue to strive for what he believes needs changing in russia now i'm. seeing this crowd that i've mentioned before it is growing really by the by the million by the second comes from all over the political spectrum a strong set of russian life the political sphere of russian life from really the polish to the phone right and everybody in between there's a lot of flags you can see around in the crowd and they really represent just about everybody in russian political life so the crowd see it as a growing by the the minutes as a response to to voice their opinions about last nigh

some people disappoint some people looking for some new faces and that's for a so-so no no for mikhail prokhorov is a result of that i think would be the best book you could do in the current situation and i think what he did he worked very hard i would say first time of his political life because pain so. he put together very first style of campaign particle the last few months and i think partially his victory is a result of is very strong thumping very intensive very. i would say professional very western style. i think where. mike and sam are probably in january resource this mass protests in the russian defense was there like a wake up call for which it is their allies that probably situation is not so there or see here they saw last fall last summer started to work out of there and i think we have a very fair is do you think that this protest movement some precedented movement against letting that person basically he's going to gain more momentum so morrow as we see people come out in the streets you know there's going to be a rally against him as there will be rallies for him and his supp

cabinet will have to be filled by some new faces and perhaps the newest face in russian politics mikhail prokhorov the man who actually beat in sunday's elections. presidential election you had the billionaire owner of the new jersey nets n.b.a. basketball team. made his billions in the in the metals markets in the world of metals. he is really the biggest fresh face in russian politics he isn't affiliated twenty political party at the moment that he did say he would be looking to start his own party it seems to me it has left the door open. to perhaps joy in his government and perhaps this with a place in the air in his cabinet there so that's all going to rely on the talks that happen between now and try to be taking over as president jim sorting out who's going to fill those crucial spots in the cabinet there what event. because the takeover in the top of the this president is going to see who ends of the wall isn't it ok are these people remaster thanks for much. so despite the fact that more than forty five million russians as peter was saying were voted for putin they showed support is still

been very vocal on this issue and outspoken against those election results we have the likes of mikhail prokhorov russian billionaire who used about thirty thousand observers during the course of that day and evening and they say four thousand violations took place mainly in moscow st petersburg this is an issue they want to take to the courts also we have the lies again on the two going up now he stresses there are so many violations taking place as the verdict itself is on just. what used mean that we're going to see more protest oh yes we are expecting to fact this stage is being pressured just behind me at the moment for another demonstration set to kick off about seven pm moscow time on facebook about nine thousand people already signed up to be under the sanctions amount but more may turn up on the evening as part of the opposition movement to really echoing some of the sentiment we've already heard over the course of this presidential campaign that began on the fourth december with the parliamentary elections brought on by allegations of electoral fraud and the anger felt by many in the pu

communist candidate gennady zuganov; and just one new face, billionaire new jersey nets owner mikhail prokhorov. despite his western-style campaign, he hasn't cracked 10% in the polls. still, he sees an emerging coalition waiting to be led. >> ( translated ): a year ago, my nomination for presidency was not even possible. but after the parliamentary elections, the situation drastically changed. i will bring together a new political force to unify not only protestors, but those who want real change. >> warner: but ryzhkov says the race is illegitimate because the kremlin stacked the candidate deck. >> putin selected opponents himself. it was selection before the election. all these petitioners for elections are more or less managed by putin and his regime, >> warner: whether falsity will mark the vote itself is being watched by civic groups and liberal parties, who've trained volunteers as election observers. >> we'll have lots of people going from one station to another. >> warner: ksenia sokolvas independent group golos also runs a web site that's compiling allegations of pre-ballot vote riggi