Medvedev to maintain Putin legacy
Updated on 03 March 2008
Dmitri Medvedev says he will continue the work of Vladimir Putin when he becomes Russian president on 7 May.
Dmitri Medvedev says he will uphold the policies of Vladimir Putin when he becomes Russian president on 7 May.
Standing side by side with outgoing president Putin at a victory concert in Red Square, Medvedev, 42, said: "I think (my presidency) will be a direct continuation."
With 99.45 per cent of the votes counted, Medvedev has 70.23 per cent of the vote. Communist leader Gennadi Zyuganov has 17.76 per cent.
Medvedev has asked former KGB spy Putin to be his prime minister when he assumes office. Putin, who has served two terms as president, was prevented from standing for a third time.
Critics have attacked the vote, noting that Medvedev enjoyed blanket television coverage in the run-up to the election, despite not taking part in a single campaign debate.
Meanwhile, reports say Gordon Brown plans to telephone Medvedev today in a bid to end the long-standing diplomatic row between the United Kingdom and Russia that followed the murder of Russian dissident Andrei Litvinenko in London in 2006.
