Presidential candidate Dmitri Medvedev accompanied by his wife Svetlana were among the first to vote, at a section where 2% of the registered voters had already showed up within an hour since polls opened on Sunday morning, Gazeta.ru informs.

Russian citizens are voting more actively than in the previous elections. Across the Russian Federation, the participation was higher by an average of 3-5% in the first part of the voting day than it was in legislative elections in December 2007 or at the presidential elections of four years ago, the head of the central electoral commission said, quoted by Itar-Tass.

UPDATE: By noon on Sunday all candidates in the Russia presidential elections as well as President Vladimir Putin cast their votes.