Russia's new president, Dmitry Medvedev, won yesterday's election by a landslide, as predicted.

But the head of the only western observer mission criticized the election as "not fair."

And the Economist has a vivid first-hand account of how a "polling station, and the country, have been hijacked by security men who do not even pretend to follow the law."

"The Kremlin did not just fix the elections in favour of its candidate, it made a mockery out of the process," writes the magazine.

Former Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will now assume the post of prime minister, and he is expected to retain considerable sway over the country.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times