As election results roll in tonight after months of campaigning, Marylanders won't be the only ones paying attention.

Four Russian journalists will go to polling places in Baltimore County, monitor coverage of the election and attend a victory celebration with a newly elected official as part of an exhange program through the Library of Congress.

Tatyana Novikova, the head of the Russian government's mass media agency; Anna Kiseleva, a correspondent for a national radio station; Irina Borshchevskaya, editor in chief of a regional newspaper; and Olga Pashayeva, editor in chief of a national television station, spent the past week exploring Maryland as the state prepared for today's elections.

"All we know about the United States is from the movies and books. ... So now we just wanted to see everything as it is in reality," said Pashayeva through a translator, during a tour last week of WJZ-TV's studios in Baltimore.

Between questions targeted at Rick Seaby, director of broadcast operations and engineering at the station, Pashayeva added that she is surprised at the number of similarities between news organizations here and in Russia.

The journalists who have the Baltimore County League of Women Voters as their host, visited campaign headquarters, toured newsrooms, met with area journalists and took a trip to Annapolis to learn how their American counterparts cover elections. They also visited museums and other local areas of interest, and passed out candy on Halloween to get a taste of American culture.

"It's been an eye-opening experience for us, getting to meet people from another country," said Marjorie Slater-Kaplan, president of the Baltimore County League of Women Voters. "It's like traveling without ever leaving home."

The exchange program, Open World, will sponsor 2,500 Russian participants this year, visiting 240 communities throughout the country.