( dpa )- Senator John McCain, the Republican Party's likely presidential nominee, Monday condemned the Russian elections as something "that would not pass the smell test in any functioning democracy."
"The people of Russia are going back to the days ... where they don't have the right of free elections and even a free society," McCain said in broadcast comments.
Dmitry Medvedev won a major victory Sunday in Russia's presidential elections with support from his mentor President Vladimir Putin, who plans to hold on to power with a new position in the Russian government. The vote is seen by critics as Kremlin- orchestrated to divide power between the duo .