Short answers, pulled from the story.
Vladimir Putin announced that Dmitry Medvedev would be his preferred successor on the 10th of December 2007. This decision came after years of speculation about who would take over from the incumbent president.
Dmitry Medvedev formally registered his candidacy with the Central Election Commission on the 21st of January 2008. He was forty-two years old at the time and had previously served as First Deputy Prime Minister.
Nikolai Gotsa represented Andrey Bogdanov during pre-election debates on Star TV on February 20. Vladimir Zhirinovsky replied fiercely by insulting Gotsa and then punched him when cameras went off.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe refused to monitor the election due to severe restrictions imposed by Russian authorities. Negotiations lasted weeks before Russia agreed to increase observer numbers but Moscow proposed sending only forty monitors starting two weeks prior to the vote.
Dmitry Medvedev received ninety-one point nine-two percent support in Dagestan. This region recorded one of the highest levels of backing compared to other federal subjects like Chechnya which showed eighty-eight point seven zero percent.