| Medvedev vows to clear ruling party of spoilers |
MOSCOW Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has pledged to clear the ruling United Russia party of irresponsible members who damage its image.
“Our party members and leaders are not saints at all. We should make decisions if such problems emerge. If some people who accidentally became party members behave in a way that throws a shadow on the rest in the party structures, we should get rid of these people,” Medvedev said.
United Russia’s image has suffered a serious blow as a result of last December’s parliamentary vote, in which the party gained almost half of the vote, but which the opposition said was marred by massive fraud in favour of United Russia.
Large-scale protests took place across the country following the elections, with demonstrators demanding that the vote results be cancelled and new elections held.
Meanwhile, prosecutors in Russia have brought extremism charges against a former policeman over calls to “commit crimes” against members of the ruling United Russia party.
The 26-year-old former policeman posted online texts between August 6 and November 3 last year calling for violence against United Russia members, prosecutors in the far eastern Khabarovsk region said.
The man, whose name was not given, faces up to three years in jail if convicted.
Allegations of widespread fraud in favour of United Russia during last year’s parliamentary elections triggered the biggest anti-government protests in Russia in decades.
Agencies
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