Moscow:  Vladimir Putin cruised to victory in Sunday’s Russian Presidential elections.

His fourth term as president will extend until 2024, making him the first Kremlin leader to serve two decades in power since Josef Stalin.

Turnout, was close to 60% as of 9 pm GMT on Sunday evening after a long day of voting.

The Kremlin had hoped to match the 65% who cast votes in 2012 and had initially sought 70% turnout.

Speaking to reporters after the results were announced, he laughed off a question about running again in another six years.

“What you are saying is a bit funny. Do you think that I will stay here until I’m 100 years old? No!” he said.

The scale of victory appears to be a marked increase in his share of the vote from 2012, when he won by 64%.

With nearly 100 percent of the votes counted, the Central Election Commission (CEC),  announced that Putin, who has run Russia as President or Prime Minister since 1999, had won by securing 76.69 percent of the vote.