Vladimir Putin won the presidential election.
Vladimir Putin . Putin won the subsequent 2000 Presidential election by a 53 % to 30 % margin , thus avoiding a runoff with his Communist Party of the Russian Federation opponent , Gennady Zyuganov . He was re-elected President in 2004 with 72 % of the vote . In September 2011 , after presidential terms were extended from four to six years , Putin announced he would seek a third term as president .