Russia's ruling party is the big winner in Sunday's elections.

United Russia had nearly 5,000 candidates running for office around the country. The ruling party's candidates were set to win all five elections for governor.

Opponents allege widespread voting violations in the elections that will preserve President Vladimir Putin's dominance. Leaders of United Russia – a party that has dominated Russian politics for more than a decade – have denied cheating.

Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, to whom Mr. Putin handed the chairmanship of United Russia after they swapped jobs, said the ruling party had done better than in a December parliamentary election in which it lost dozens of seats.

A round of protests began in December when disgruntled voters expressed their dismay in Moscow and other cities over Mr. Putin's plan to return to the presidency after four years as prime minister. The protests have recently died down.