Ivan Sekretarev / AP

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who claimed victory in Russia's presidential election, tears up as he reacts at a massive rally of his supporters at Manezh square outside the Kremlin on March 4, 2012.

Msnbc.com news services report — His eyes brimming with tears, Vladimir Putin defiantly proclaimed to a sea of supporters that they had triumphed over opponents intent on "destroying Russia's statehood and usurping power."

Putin said the presidential election, which official figures said he had won with more than 63 percent of the vote, had prevented Russia from falling into the hands of enemies. Complaining of widespread fraud, his opponents said they would rally near the Kremlin on Monday night.

Monitors cited "serious problems" with the vote and called for alleged electoral violations in Sunday's election to be thoroughly investigated.

See more images of Vladimir Putin on PhotoBlog.

Maxim Shipenkov / EPA

People look at the screen providing images from a network of surveillance webcams installed at polling stations all over the country at Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) in Moscow on March 4, 2012.