Detentions of protesters, punishment of Ukraine signals tough Kremlin line after election

President Vladimir Putin fast-tracked the transfer of power to his newly elected protege and signaled the Kremlin won't back down from its pull-no-punches foreign policy or ease up on its critics at home.

President-elect Dmitry Medvedev credited his overwhelming election victory Sunday to Putin's policies that have "so effectively been pursued in recent years."'

Medvedev has stressed he will pursue Putin's foreign and domestic agenda, and in a sign that little would change, Russia squeezed natural gas supplies to Western-leaning Ukraine, and police in Moscow manhandled opposition protesters who denounced the election as a farce.

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