Vladimir Putin and the Russia elections: live We are encouraged to see so many Russian citizens voting, monitoring voting in their local precincts, exercising their constitutional right to free assembly, and expressing their views peacefully about the political and electoral processes. The number of Russian election observers who monitored this vote is unprecedented and a sign that Russian society seeks to participate in the improvement of Russia's democratic institutions. We also recognize the government's efforts to reform the political system, including the reintroduction of direct elections for governors, the simplification of party registration procedures, and the reduction in the numbers of signatures needed to register presidential candidates. 17.32 The BBC's Tim Whewell is just back from the Moscow protests, and has tweeted comparing them to the scenes at Tahrir Square, the focal point of the Egyptian revolution at the start of the Arab Spring. 17.13 You may have noticed that Britain still has not come out and made any full, official statement regarding Mr Putin's win. Alex Spillius is still on the case. Still no statement on Putin from William Hague, and no phone call from David Cameron. Both will probably happen at some point, but the message in the delay is clear: we'll work with you if we have to, but would really rather not, and we disapprove strongly of how the election was conducted. 17.09 Prokhorov has spoken at the opposition protest in Moscow. The New York Times' Michael Schwirtz is tweeting from the protest: Mr Schwirtz also echoed a Moscow Times report claiming that the opposition wants tents set up in the square. Mr Putin seems to be facing a cross between the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street. 16.57 France's foreign minister Alain Juppe has appended his earlier "taking note" of Mr Putin's victory (see 14.45) with a mroe passionate call for Mr Putin to drop his support for Syria's Assad. "Russia has totally isolated itself from the rest of the international community," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe warned, urging Putin "now the elections have passed... to revisit Russia's Syria policy." "If we could quickly get a (UN) Security Council resolution that orders Damascus to halt the violence, allow access for humanitarian aid and put the Arab League peace plan into effect, that would be real progress," he said. It's not impossible, we're going to work on it in the coming days. The Associated Press reports that Germany's foreign minister Guido Westerwelle has called for the same thing, asking Russia to recognise that it is "on the wrong side of history." But Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov appears unmoved. He's spoken from Jordan, saying: I don't think there is a need for any new initiatives... It's not that everything depends on Russia. We shouldn't expect one another to take any action, but sit down together and decide what steps need to be taken so that the Syrians stop shooting at each other. 16.34 All those web cameras scattered across the thousands of Russian polling booths have turned up what appears to be footage of men stuffing dozens of ballot papers into an electronic ballot box at a polling station in Dagestan. The Russian Central Elections Commission said it has cancelled the results from the polling station in question - but insisted there was no fraud involved. In fact, it is Vladimir Churov, the "Magician" who Mr Putin said earlier would be appointed to investigate the claims of fraud, who dismissed the footage as "a mistake," saying rather ominously: This was not a case of ballot stuffing, it was a mistake, a fateful error of the district election officials... This fateful error has led to the annulment of the votes in this polling station. This affects a couple of hundred voters who have had their right to vote denied, so we will take corresponding disciplinary action. 16.29 At least 100 anti-Putin protesters have now been arrested, with Reuters reporting 50 detained in Moscow's Lubyanka Square and 50 detained in St Petersburg. All 100 were at "unsanctioned protests." In Pushkin Square, where the sanctioned protest against Mr Putin took place, Reuters quoted police as saying about 14,000 people had gathered - though the opposition put it at closer to 20,000. 15.58 Less than an hour after the protests began in Moscow police are now reporting "dozens" of arrests there also, according to AFP. 15.50 The Moscow Times has called on Mr Putin to take Abraham Lincoln as his inspiration as he goes from being a "decisive, patriotic" leader to the next level. 15.36 Russia's protest movement have demanded new elections, the wires are reporting, as AFP reports police are arresting dozens of anti-Putin protesters in Saint Petersburg. The news agency has also tallied the size of the crowds. The anti-Putin crowd in Pushkin Square is said to number around 5,000 - but the counter rally supporting Mr Putin outside the Kremlin is said to number around 15,000. Opposition leader Vladimir Rhyzhkov is quoted on AFP: We are a demanding an end to political repression, an investigation into massive fraud and early parliamentary and presidential elections. 15.16 Sixteen minutes after the protests officially started, the first arrests are taking place in Lubyanka Square, according to British journalist Tom Barton. 14.57 RT have now tweeted a link to a live webcam from the anti-Putin protest in Pushkinskaya Square, where the Telegraph's Tom Parfitt is this evening. 14.45 France's foreign minister Alain Juppe has "taken note" that Mr Putin has won the election, saying: I take note that President Putin is our interlocutor for years to come. Overall, despite some criticism ... the re-election of President Putin is not in doubt. 14.34 Amnesty has published images of what it claims are satellite photos of apparent Russian-made field guns pointing at Homs. The blog post states: We continue calling on Russia and China to drop their resistance towards a legally binding U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for an end to attacks against civilians and that refers the situation to the International Criminal Court. As Charles Crawford noted earlier, one of Mr Putin's biggest challenges will be to modernise Russia so that she can stand up for her international right without simultaneously propping up "trashy, clueless regimes that violently cling to power." 14.26 Tom Parfitt is heading out into the thick of things in Moscow as the protests get set to kick off: 14.12 Video of the OSCE press conference from earlier today: 14.10 Protest plans are heating up in Moscow, with pro- and anti-Putin demonstrations both set to start by 15.00 GMT. RT's Lena Leirich has been tweeting about police plans: 13.41 Perhaps with Assad's telegram in mind, Britain's former ambassador to Poland Charles Crawford has blogged on some of the challenges facing Mr Putin. What is frustrating about Putin's view is that it ends up defending the indefensible, siding with trashy, clueless regimes that violently cling to power long beyond any reasonable limit. Yes, "dialogue" is better than civil war. But dialogue which in fact is aimed at helping keep these dismal leaders in control is not worth having... This is Putin's challenge. To stay in business he will need to come up with policies which substantively modernise Russia and its governance. This means also modernising a truculent but banal KGB view of the world, and Russia's role in it. Western governments are more than ready to work closely with Russia on issues like Syria, once Moscow shows that it agrees that propping up nasty national socialist dictatorships is no longer legitimate or honourable. 13.36 Mr Putin has apparently promised three of his opponents that he will investigate the allegations of fraud - but he has raised eyebrows almost immediately by appointing the man dubbed "The Magician" to do it. From Tom Parfitt: Putin said he would ask elections chief Vladimir Churov to "thoroughly check all possible violations about which you have spoken." That is unlikely to inspire confidence among protest leaders who call Churov "The Wizard" - because of his apparently magical power to ensure smooth elections for the ruling authorities. Churov dismissed claims of numerous cases of vote-fixing earlier today. Bizarrely, he also accused international observers of being spies, saying: "More and more often, monitors feel the irresistible desire to penetrate border zones, closed nuclear sites, missile centres and so on. The number of those with such a desire is growing. Gennady Zyuganov, the communist challenger who came second and refused to recognise the result, did not take part in the meeting with Putin at a health complex on the edge of Moscow. Putin supporters celebrate his victory in the Russian city of Stavropol (DANIL SEMYONOV/AFP/Getty Images) 13.02 Just in case Mr Putin missed his congratulations, Syria's Bashar al-Assad has made time in his busy schedule to send him a telegram congratulating him on his victory, according to state news agency SANA. Yes, you read that right - a telegram. Perhaps Mr Assad is avoiding emails for fear he'll be hacked again, but it's not entirely clear why he didn't just phone Mr Putin. Too busy with other things? 12.43 Britain's official statement on Mr Putin's victory is being released, and a spokesman for David Cameron has called the election results "decisive" - though adding that the OSCE has "clearly identified some problems." The full statement to come shortly. Our poll on how Britain should react was posted at 11.00. 12.27 The Daily Telegraph's Chief Foreign Correspondent David Blair has blogged that Mr Putin is a survivor - but Russians are tired of his shady methods. When a leader's acolytes feel the need to rig an election on his behalf, that is never a good sign. Just as (Egypt's) Mubarak and Ben Ali staged sham elections to disguise their own unpopularity, Putin may be doing the same... While he clearly retains a good deal of popular support, not to mention the canniness and determination of a survivor, few would expect Putin to survive for the two consecutive six year terms that he is now eligible to serve. Does anyone really think that he will now be in power until 2024? At the very least, it seems probable that this will be his last term of office. If so, the question of succession may become the underlying theme of Russian politics. 12.21 Reuters have written an analysis warning that Mr Putin's win has come at the cost of hundreds of billions of dollards in spending promises that could sow the seeds of an economic crisis in Russia before his term is over. Everything depends on the price of oil staying high, Reuters' Jason Bush writes - or else how will he be able to follow through on his promises? Putin... shored up his base by throwing money at everything from nuclear missiles to kindergartens, making the overburdened budget more dependent than ever on oil prices. On the face of it, Russia has fiscal leeway enabling it to afford higher spending. The federal budget ran a small surplus last year, and is officially forecast to run only a modest deficit of 1 per cent of GDP this year. Total government debt is only around 11 per cent of GDP, and Russia has also accumulated $150 billion in two sovereign funds which could be tapped in an emergency. But these numbers would look much less rosy without the good fortune of high - and in recent months, rising - oil prices. The break-even oil price, at which Russia's budget balances, has rocketed from just $34 a barrel in 2007 to $117 this year. In a recent report, analysts at Citi warn that the break-even price will rise to $150 per barrel if Putin's spending policies are implemented. "That type of uncertainty would likely drive a lower valuation (of the stock market) even if oil prices hold up, simply because (of) the increased cyclicality that it implies for the market," they wrote. A further question is how long Russia's luck with the oil price will hold. 12.18 The opposition have also latched on to the irony of Mr Putin's tears. Tom Parfitt writes: Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption blogger and opposition leader, has posted a notice about tonight's demonstration in central Moscow. It features a damp-eyed Putin and the slogan: "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears." That's a pun on the name of a much-loved Soviet film in which a provincial girl comes to the capital, becomes a factory director and falls in love with a pipe fitter. Just in case you missed them, here's those infamous tears again: 12.04 Douglas Alexander, Labour's shadow foreign secretary, has warned Russia that the eyes of the world are watching for election fallout: Given the allegations that have already emerged of undemocratic practises, there are real questions to be answered about the election results in Russia. The Russian authorities should be in no doubt that the world will be watching their actions closely in the coming hours and days. 12.00 Former US presidential hopeful John McCain has tweeted about Mr Putin's tears: 11.49 Telegraph Moscow correspondent Tom Parfitt, listening in on the OSCE press conference, has made a few observations that seem to show pretty much everyone is walking a tightrope. It was interesting that while Tonino Picula, head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation, called the election "unfair" and stressed that it "did not meet democratic standards," the head of the OSCE mission, Heidi Tagliavini, refused repeated offers by journalists to characterise the poll as "not free or fair" or "illegitimate." She said it was important to get away from this "pattern of adjectives" and take a more sophisticated view which included both the faults and the positive aspects, such as greater scrutiny of the vote by observers and web cameras. 11.47 The EU are also walking a tightrope regarding Mr Putin's victory. EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton urged Russia on Monday to address "shortcomings" in the vote to return Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin in the European Union's initial reaction to the poll. "The EU takes note of the preliminary results" from Sunday's presidential poll, Ashton's spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told a news briefing, adding that Ashton's office shared concerns by international observers. "We are encouraging Russia to address these shortcomings," she said. 11.45 Alex Spillius has also learned that David Cameron is planning to call Mr Putin to congratulate him "once a mutually convenient time can be found": Probably in the afternoon, which would be well after Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, who was due to call the Kremlin at 11am London. The timings are indicative of Germany's status as best friend of Russia among Western powers (not that that is saying much) and Britain's enduringly frosty, post-Litvinenko relations. 11.25 The New York Times' Moscow correspondent Michael Schwirtz has tweeted images of police in Moscow today. 11.20 Alex Spillius has an update on that quandary facing the Foreign Office. Sources tell him: The FCO will make a statement on Russia within the hour. It will say that Britain wants to work with Russia in the future but won't shy away from expressing concerns about the election process. Walking a bit of a tight-rope in other words: no full congratulation but staying on the right side of the issue ethically. 11.09 Further to our poll at 11.00, Germany's Angela Merkel is set to speak to Mr Putin this morning to congratulate him. Her office said she will "wish him success in the coming time in office." The Daily Telegraph's Alex Spillius has called the Foreign Office to see if they've formed a reaction yet. So far, no luck, as he writes: The Foreign Office said it was withholding any reaction until it had read the findings of the OSCE's election arm, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. "We await the preliminary report of the OSCE / ODIHR election observation mission with interest," said a Foreign Office spokesman. We fully support the importance of democratic elections in Russia, as elsewhere in the world. As a Council of Europe member state, Russia has an obligation to uphold key democratic norms and standards. 11.03 Just in case you missed it last night, here is Mr Putin's tearful victory speech in Moscow. 11.00 It's poll time. Western leaders are having to walk a thin line with Mr Putin - they'll want to push reforms, but they will also have to deal with him for the duration of his term, which makes things tricky. Leave your vote for how Britain should react here: How should Britain react to Vladimir Putin's re-election? 10.39 Russians themselves did their part by turning out and voting, according to this latest from Tom Parfitt: 10.34 The Daily Telegraph's Tom Parfitt is also following the OSCE statements from Moscow, where he's tweeted: 10.25 It's not all bad though: Syria has congratulated Mr Putin on his victory. The Associated Press has quoted an editorial in the state newspaper Tishrin, which declares Mr Putin will reshape international relations to respect "countries' interests and unity and not interfere in their international affairs." With friends like those... Daily Telegraph Foreign Editor David Munk has a similar opinion of Syria's endorsement: 10.17 The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has declared there were "serious problems" with the Russia vote, and that it was "clearly skewed" in favour of Mr Putin. From the international vote monitoring group official Tonino Picula: There was no real competition and abuse of government resources ensured that the ultimate winner of the election was never in doubt. 10.15 GMT (14.15 Moscow) Good morning and welcome to our live blog covering the fallout from the Russian elections, where Vladimir Putin's tearful declaration of victory last night has been marred by threats of protests and accusations from election observers. Agency reports this morning say that 12,000 police and troops are in Moscow in preparation for protests later on today and tonight. Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev speak to supporters in Moscow on Sunday night