By Alexei Dovbysh
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - Russians voted for a newpresident on Sunday in an election expected to deliver avictory to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's chosen successor andanother blow to Moscow's already tarnished democratic image.
Opinion polls predicted an easy win for 42-year-old St.Petersburg lawyer and Kremlin official Dmitry Medvedev thatshould ensure Putin stays on as the power behind the throne.
Election officials in the Far Eastern peninsula ofChukotka, the first of the nation's 11 time zones to castballots, said voting began on schedule at 0800 local (8 p.m.British time Saturday).
Polling stations also opened in Vladivostok, Russia's mainnaval base and gateway into the Pacific.
Exit polls and first results were due after the last of the96,300 polling stations closed in the European enclave ofKaliningrad bordering Poland at 2000 (6 p.m. British time) onSunday.
Yelena, a 19-year-old student voting for the first time,said she had chosen Medvedev. "Why? I don't really know," shesaid. "I believe many will vote for him, and I just like him."
The last polls to be published said Medvedev would win70-80 percent, way ahead of his nearest rival, 63-year-oldCommunist veteran Gennady Zyuganov on 10-16 percent.
Turnout was seen at around 70 percent, though critics saidit would be inflated by factory managers and state officialswho pressure employees to vote.
In Chukotka's capital Anadyr, voters were lured by fluffytoys, theatre tickets and even mobile phones gifted to thosevoting for the first time, Vesti-24 television channel said.
In Vladivostok, polling stations near student hostelstempted voters with teddy bears and baseball caps with Russianflags for those casting ballots for the first time.
Putin, due to step down in May because of term limits, isby far Russia's most popular politician after presiding over aneconomic boom and rapid revival in Russian influence overseas.
His endorsement in December of Medvedev, a colleague foralmost 20 years, instantly catapulted the low-profilebureaucrat into the leading position in the polls.
AIRTIME AND POLICE
Putin, however, promised to maintain an influential roleafter the election and later said he would become primeminister under Medvedev -- a highly unusual division of powerin a country used to one supreme leader.
It remains unclear exactly how the new arrangement willwork once Medvedev is installed in the Kremlin and his formerboss and mentor moves to the prime minister's quarters to starta role which, on paper, is more lowly.
Buoyed by generous amounts of airtime on state media andlent considerable official support by his status as FirstDeputy Prime Minister, Medvedev scarcely campaigned at all. Hehas preferred instead to tour cities in his official capacityinspecting building projects and social programmes.
Further adding to the air of unreality surrounding theelection, Medvedev refused to participate in debates withopposition challengers.
Zyuganov, like other opposition politicians, complainedbitterly of unfair media access and official harassment of hiscampaign, a charge echoed by democracy watchdogs.
Independent anti-Kremlin candidates, such as former primeminister Mikhail Kasyanov or Soviet dissident VladimirBukovsky, were barred by the authorities from running.
Most Western monitors were boycotting the election becauseof a row with Russian election officials over the number ofobservers allowed and the duration of their stay.
Security was tight, with 450,000 police and troops deployedto watch over voting and guard against terror attacks.
With the election result a foregone conclusion, the maininterest has focused on what will happen once Medvedev reachesthe Kremlin.
Analysts have little to go on, since Medvedev has givenonly a couple of major programme speeches during the campaignand limited himself to one paid-for interview in a weekly,where he talked mainly about his earlier career and personallife.
-- For more on Russia's presidential election, please seeour blog "Operation Successor" athttp://blogs.reuters.com/russia
(Editing by Myra MacDonald)
