presidential race something of a tradition really over the years that's communist leader gennady zyuganov artists about is actually his campaign headquarters now joins us live with an update tell us what zyuganov has had to say about these results coming in. well he was not happy i mean there's such a major disappointment around the camp right now in fact everybody is leaving they just say you know they didn't expect the results to be like this they had a mandate that they were going for and it's just not worked out the way they wanted it to work out in fact mrs gone over even saying that you know this election was just towards one person it was for the now with mr putin and he has left the building right now and i've been walking around you know trying to talk to members of either party asking them you know what could they have done differently to get different results and one of them said to me you know it's almost like being the bridesmaid and never been bright the other thing you never been the bride the other thing is that they've said that you know they need to go back to the drawin

showed four years ago eight ten years ago there's that mean the end of the political career of mr zyuganov and maybe they're all communist party you know it's the serious challenge for the electorate of communist party because we must understand what are the expectations of people who are now award for mrs reagan and are they really satisfied that communist party maybe will be on the second plays do next three or four elections mr zyuganov we'll go on the second place during next president elections is enough for them or not because if they really want to see their party you know you know these people are out there around him i mean people really and you will see a war that not a theme i mean a little bit ago the war the voters in the serious questions will them so it's not enough to see that the leader of their party in the parliament on the second place or they really want to see the leader of the communist party as the next president of the i'm the only daughter because i suspect the majority of the people who vote for communists will be in their late seventy's by the election so if it'

known for is quite aggressive tactics he's clearly staining just over six percent of votes unlike zyuganov as you can last years already actually can gradually to do a budget which in with these preliminary results quite impressive early results indeed and there is also meet all of who is the head of the fair russia party and the former speaker of the upper house of parliament he's here in the standing around three point seven percent. and one more figure there of course i'm talking about the campaign of billionaire mikhail prokhorov there was much attention given to him with many analysts saying he's a new force in russian politics where does he stand. well i didn't really want to put that off in the same line with the other candidates because he really does stand down first of all he is a businessman a billion year in fact one of the richest one is in the world he's new in politics this is the first time profitably staking port in a presidential election and he's already managed to get over seven percent which is quite significant since it's more than say. a middle of who've been in poli

mr zyuganov plans to hold a press conference here very shortly today to what to explain his action plans for the future his response to the selection and then focus of plans to meet up with opposition protestors at a rally at pushkin sky at a square here in moscow so we'll definitely be bringing people much more of that as it unfolds. wouldn't even say for us thank you. well voting may be over in russia as the presidential election there's another vote you can take part in our online poll today we're asking you what the biggest challenge for russia's next president will be and the results so far almost to be forty percent defending off later encroachment in the biggest challenge almost a third argue that getting rid of corruption should be the top priority seventeen percent say the main task was to modernize the country's economy and politics. nine percent say the russian economy taking world economic problems on a minority view so far today seven percent voted for russia's leverage because it will tell us what you think should be at the top of the russian presence in trade by costing yo

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 anything on us we have shown that our people are able to tell the desire for a new rule from political publication aimed at ruling the russian state and those are being we have won with the support of the absolute majority of voters it's a clear and picturing we will work honestly and hard we will be successful a

showed four years ago eight ten years ago those that mean the end of the political career of mr zyuganov and maybe the whole communist party you know it's the serious challenge for the electorate of communist party because we must understand what the expectations of people who are now award for mrs reagan of either really satisfied the communist party and we have you will be on the second plays unum next three or four elections and mr zyuganov will be on the second place during next president pollutions enough for them or not because if they really want to see their party you don't know these people are out there around him i mean people wrote in the war their team of not the team i mean a little is going to live all those voters is a serious questions with them so it's not enough to see it believe of their party in the parliament on the second place or they really want to see belittle the common despite it as the next president of the guy says well maybe the lead dog because i suspect the majority of the people who go to communists will be in their late seventy's by the clutch so if it'

during the course of voting they expect to take this further to court as well is also a lie so canady zyuganov he looking to come second the leader of the colonies poncy he said and there's that much election for taking place that the results should be in ballots i think there's all this mean then that we're going to see more protests . well yes we are likely to see more protests later on today starting about seven pm moscow time warner sets a place just behind me and push guns gaius where there is going to be opposition movements the have really galvanized this discontent and in fact they organized the fed before the election elections actually took place they're continuing on that message and they started back on the fourth of falling on the from the parliamentary elections they say that occasions overlooked. but it hasn't really lost any of that momentum since there has also been the other side to this story during the course of prime minister vladimir putin essentially what's they think he stands for which is the ability financial stability as the as a leader of russia we saw in that piece

with nearly sixty five percent of the vote is that years to rival the communist party's going to be zyuganov as a little over seventy percent to other contenders said dave miron of and of lucky me of shit enough ski have accepted their defeat the communist party's candidate get out the suit gone off condemned sunday's vote as not legitimate fair or. your special coverage of russia's presidential election here on our t.v. continues we will be bringing you updates in the hours ahead but for now it's a debate time and a special election edition of our t's crossed. live . in the spirit. below in welcome to a special edition of cross talk i'm peter lavelle decision two thousand and twelve russians have gone to the polls and chosen a new president how is this campaign change politics in russia what does it say about the voters and what does the future hold for the political opposition. led. to the slim. ok to cross-talk first results of the election i'm joined by eric wahlberg in toronto he's an author and journalist and writes about russian affairs and weekly in cairo in brussels we have gilbert

anybody the frost more than put it on the including prof wrote i think some of them were voting for zyuganov followed. of the spied prokhorov undeniable business credentials some foreign executives are also welcoming the prospect of letting your putin's return earlier we talked to a leading businessman a peter scholar who told us putin's track record is very attractive to people who seek to invest in my country. if i would have had a vote i would have voted for poorly i have been living here in russia twelve years and i think that all candidates were quite interesting and good about what would have made me to vote for courtney was that first of all he has a good track record he has that realized the country he stopped with war and he has started reforms in social and efficiency field corruption field which are not yet finished the other candidates have been. less credible in this way but the debate has to be right before the election so i think nobody has been censored but i would have probably voted as two thirds of all gratia for poor. archies washington correspondent and has been monitori

showed four years ago eight ten years ago this is that mean the end of the political career of mr zyuganov and maybe they're all communist party you know it's the serious challenge for the electorate of communist party because we must understand what the expectations of people who are now award for mrs reagan and they really sit a swathe of communist party and maybe will be on the second plays during next three or four elections and this is a guy on the field on the second place during next present a little it's enough for them or not because if they really want to see their party you know you know these people are out there around so many people know in the war they're not a team i mean a little girl the war is a serious question is will them so is it enough to see it illegal for their part in the parliament on the second police what they really want to see the leader of the communist party as the next president of the crown i says well maybe at the end of the gig i suspect the majority of the people who go to the communists will be in their late seventy's by the election if it's it's eno

leading with sixty two point three percent of the vote coming second is communist candidate deny the zyuganov who is seventeen point six percent of the vote but you measure it in the of ski candidate from the liberal democratic party with seven point eight percent an independent candidate billion or brought her out is now getting seven point five percent of the vote it's definitely a victory for a newcomer to the politics he only announced that he would be running for presidency several months ago and now the last one on the list as candidate from i just russia party said gave me all enough it's 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 the selection 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 overall of over three hun

they are what we are with this minute is that we having sixty two percent for prudent seventeen for zyuganov and seven point five for it which is a pretty good result isn't it isn't it because because he he's easing you cover huli well just learning well i think that the something that probably our viewers have to maybe bear in mind here which is i think that a lot of the people who voted for any of the candidates puton. really even went into the into the polling station not even quite knowing who they were going to vote for who just knew they were going to vote for someone else a lot if they found anything can decide deal you know like we said i think that the person who probably gamed the most out of this election campaign wasn't even standing it was alexei novelli and of course it's very controversial but we'll see what he comes up with tomorrow when he launches his protest and we'll see whether i just stay within the law it was my job to stay peaceful but i think that he's gained an awful lot of support and i think he has his eye possibly on the next election campaign politics as well i

votes for president archie looks at the five running for the kremlin top job the candidate guillory zyuganov sixty seven turns the achievements of communism from before his time on the record second in all presidential elections since the end of the u.s.s.r. to two thousand and twelve both will be his fourth plan for presidency free education as housing punish illegal immigration and introduce ethnicity stops in ta sports controversy juggalos communists usually vote with putin's forty on the big issues known abroad for exploiting soviet nostalgia with pensioners the discontented and just real working class. presidential election two thousand and twelve on party.

the lead with around sixty four percent of the vote is rival the communist parties that gennady zyuganov a little over seventeen percent to other contenders. and. have accepted their defeat despite opposition claims of violations sunday's election is said to be the most transparent in russia's history. for me but we will be bringing you as a team in the hours ahead as our special coverage of russia's presidential election continues earlier our interview show spotlight discussed the vote that's coming up next right here on r.t. . hello again and welcome troops talking about the into the shall as part of al green albums today we're talking about the presidential election in russia so this is it the voting is over and just moments ago i've heard the latest on the preliminary results of this election was a very special it's the first time after a constitutional reform that russians elected a president for six years instead of moreover it's been the most expensive but the most transparent voting as anyone can watch it online so all that very special election to cover while still in russian po

candidates are they lived in a liberal democrat but initially lawsky the communist leader gennady zyuganov russian tycoon mikhail gorbachev well something of a dark horse in this election and also player part player russia party leader sygate you know the so definitely interesting vote and we'll see how it unfolds and of course a lot has been done to make the most transparent to date hasn't it. certainly it's all the stake it's the first time russia is voting for a president who will sort of a six year term and the run up to the election as i said has been very turbulent many demanding fair elections to be held so this particular vote has all the indication to become russia's most transparent election since it since the collapse of the soviet union and we understand that lots of observers both russian and international are here to want to sell the election as well as web cameras which have been installed at every single polling stations across our huge country and this cost almost half a billion u.s. dollars. installing these weapons or as my colleague he's going to show we did a story to

but still we have the communist leader zyuganov running for presidency possibly a second place candidate we have the communist party second largest in parliament one of the reasons for that in your opinion well. we're judging here to a large extent from the parliamentary elections of december two thousand and seven alchemies party has gained a bigger support than had before and the largely through to the protests will take many people who do find their leaders to support they went to the election booth and supported couldn't these cards you know just because they were supporting communist ideas so much but rather they were thinking that this party is being much more position than the other ones are true position however and this is you gonna. to some extent does have problems with the part of his personal image i would see there is more people communists oriented i mean could. saidee is really into this support economist by she wrote them deleting sound for himself that's even though he's quite sporty listy it with a very few of the others but there's clearly other candidates which are c

thousand of servers watching these elections very closely and just earlier on we did hear from mr zyuganov himself and this is what he had to say. that. this election was neither fair nor legitimate. fear elections you know fear dialogue between the power party and the opposition but the ruling party never took the state fair elections mean old heads of parties take part in that meets but vladimir putin never showed up. vera lection i mean the bureaucracy to provide equal opportunities for all the can build this case it was working in the interests of one. with. a saying that as you heard their story they said if you heard it he think that you know there was only one candidate who everybody was looking out for and in fact you said before that he's not a very charismatic man he's very misunderstood and a lot of experts have said that perhaps the communist party needs to kind of come into the twenty first century forget the also get union well wishes and come in and modernize themselves were looking to was a new leader for this party and those exit polls shortly show that something needs to

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 the president it was a test of political maturity in independence and we have shown and nobody can impose anything on us we have shown our people were able to tell the desire for renu from a political provocations and aimed at ruining the russian state and usurping power we have won with the support of the absolute majo

contends the headquarters of communist rival franken place counted it so far communist leader gennady zyuganov argues to break more say is there is a sly sugandha of no stranger to second place in presidential polls who's really a veteran are has seen more popularity in the past what are here in this camp saying about these early results. well they are all very disappointed in fact that they can play the headquarters is very quiet right now as they've all just kind of rallied in their own offices just talking about what happened tonight early on we heard from a lot of himself saying that's what he really lakshman where i'd say this on this and i'm not worried the very harsh words coming from him let's take a listen. big. chunk probably best to get the whole me not under a canopy boss or in. this election was neither free nor legitimate fear elections here a dialogue between the power party and the opposition but the ruling party never took a step nearer elections mean all heads of parties take part in korea lecture debates flooding reported never showed up here election i mean the bureaucracy

supporters celebrate their discontent at the headquarters of his closest rival communist leader gennady zyuganov bring us up to date with that developing story tonight. structure of course to second place in presidential polls i guess again it's not to be happy about that so i want to hear this kind of saying about these early results . well early on he came out spoke to us here at the headquarters saying that these elections where dishonest unfair and and worthy and for him and his party he will not recognize the results of these evil actions now let's take a look at how he's done over the years in terms of like he said before he's actually run this is the fourth time his run for the hot seat in the kremlin and he's not done very well he's always come second in one thousand nine hundred six he ran against mr yeltsin where he got thirty five thirty two percent of the vote in fact that was his highest. turnaround and his highest vote of the entire political party and then in two thousand he ran against mr putin where he got up to twenty one percent of the vote and then two thousand the last of vo

well i mean mr zyuganov has been in politics one hundred sixty seven he's sixty seven years old he's got so much experience and his party having you know that twenty percent of the voters behind him if he is a contender to reckon with whether he's got a strong hold at the moment we'll have to see until those results come in but as i said you know the communist party has you know it's moved from ninety nine to one to what it is today from the communist party of the soviet union to what it is today called because i mean it's probably of the russian federation the center of the candidate guillotines you get out of sixty seven chance to choose the communism from before his time the record second in all presidential elections since the end of the u.s.s.r. the two thousand and twelve votes will be his fourth plan for presidency free education of polish a legal immigration and introduces this three stops in passports controversy juggler's communists usually vote restrictions for you on the big issues abroad for exploiting soviet nostalgia with pensioners just contented in just a working cla

it's genuine a lot of people don't want to see putin are seventeen percent of the world went to mr zyuganov you know the communist party and so forth but many of the street protests that we've seen and russian that we are seeing the world over are clearly being engineered by tiny world trained well financed troublemakers who are heeding not to the interest of the russian people or the syrian people or the libyan people as we've seen in recent months but again as i say towards the global interest the geopolitical interests of the major powers who would love to see a lot of the streets of moscow and other major cities just as they arrive on the chaos that we have seen in benghazi in tripoli and now in homs and in the mass was . only following on for dangerous kevin again so far the russian opposition failed to unite and put forth a single leader crucially to rival polluted do you think that might happen any time soon in the future i doubt it because you see there are two types of people in the public eye you have politicians and you have statesmen and right now with the world needs for space

movement breeds windell because if you look at it for example the communist party leader gennady zyuganov was not even there are apparently he was invited but he refused to come to the meeting he did basically it seems like the protest movement may lose its momentum because of the leaders of the opposition the primary leaders were there today and they looked like they're ready to work with again the future president putin all a lot of the issues which they may be facing so grotesquely actually be in the past as we know them well we're watching very carefully to overcome you know she wore how. ridiculous you think so so much thank you. well the only new face in the race independent candidate nicole croaker of came in third with around eight percent of the vote is being held as a great success for the tycoon turned politician who rounded up millions of votes in just a few months of campaigning representing the middle class and calling for reform proper of says he's here to stay and for more on what comes next for the ambitious figure here's are to you then to friends. those plans and ambiti

guest: people are focusing on a man who was arrested last gennady zyuganov righ. the big guessing game is well putin look to an equivalent of themselves who can keep the system to gather? my sense is that he is not under great pressure to do that. host: not medvedev? guest: there was a question about whether there was an opportunity for putin to do that. my guess is that was probably not what was going on. host: 4 lauderdale, florida -- fort lauderdale. caller: interesting show. i want to say that in russia, it has become a christian nation. it is wonderful to see how they have move from communism. they passed a wonderful law to protect the children. the christian faith is very strong in russia now. i hope it grows even stronger. there are bad things happening. this is a huge issue that you cover-up in the united states media. host: christianity in russia. guest: there is a chasm between the protectors of dignity and the society as a whole. so we see a society that is going through a transition. a new attitude toward personal life style and personal choice. there