Russia's ruling United Russia party cruised to an easy victory in parliamentary polls that could pave the way for President Vladimir Putin to glide to a fourth term in 2018 elections, partial results showed. 


The ballot for the 450-seat State Duma was smooth sailing for authorities desperate to avoid a repeat of mass protests last time round and eager to increase their dominance as Russia faces the longest economic crisis of Putin's rule. 


But a low turnout suggested that many Russians may be turned off by a system in which the Kremlin wields near-total power, which could raise questions over legitimacy. 


"We can announce already with certainty that the party secured a good result, that it won," Putin said after the vote. 


"The situation is tough and difficult but the people still voted for United Russia," he said on state television. 


After 60 percent of the ballots in the party-list vote had been counted, Putin's United Russia had received 53.8 percent of the vote, far ahead of the Communists on 13.9, the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party on 13.7 percent and A Just Russia on 6.2, results published by the election commission showed

Source: NNA