Putin expected to win Russia's elections, exit poll shows as polls close

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to secure another 6-year term, according to an exit poll taken as polls close Sunday.

The official results are expected to be released later this evening, but an exit poll from state media outlet TASS showed that Putin won 87.8% of the votes. 

This puts Putin on track to overtake Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and become one of Russia's longest-serving leaders.

Putin, who has served as either president or prime minister of Russia since 1999, is already Russia's longest-serving leader since Stalin. If reelected as expected, Putin's presidential term will last until 2030, allowing him to rule the country for 31 years total compared to Stalin's 29 years. This would make Putin Russia's longest-serving leader in more than 200 years, per Reuters. 

TASS reports that turnout in the capital of Moscow was 73.33%.

The election took place over three days in Russia as well as in parts of Ukraine that the Kremlin claims to have annexed. Additionally, more than 8 million people voted online, an election commission official said Sunday.

The opposition against Putin had been led by the late Alexei Navalny, who died last month in prison.

Although Western media reports state that protests broke out against Putin during the election, Russian state media dismissed the claims.

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