Putin warns of 'humilation'

News Type: Event — Seeded on Fri Nov 30, 2007 6:13 AM EST

Article Source: SBS

President Vladimir Putin has warned Russians to vote for his party in parliamentary elections this weekend or risk the country's 'disintegration'. But Mr Putin's warning might not be necessary - his United Russia party appears set for an easy victory.

A final address to the nation before Sunday's poll. As though to goad his critics, Vladimir Putin was on rotation on state TV throughout the day. It's a privilege denied his political opponents, whom the President railed against in his speech.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: (TRANSLATION) If we want to live decent lives we can't allow the return to power of those who once tried and failed to rule the country. They now want to subvert the plans for Russia's future development, drowning them in empty talk and taking us back to a time of humiliation, dependence and disintegration.

The results of the parliamentary poll, he said, would set the tone for next year's presidential election. That's what has his critics worried. Released after five days in a Moscow jail for taking part in an unauthorised rally, opposition activist Garry Kasparov accused Putin of leading the country towards dictatorship.

GARRY KASPAROV, OPPOSITION LEADER: It's not only about Garry Kasparov, it's about all our activists. Now, I hope people in the world can see what is happening with opposition activitists in Russia when the regime pays no attention, no attention whatsoever, to the legal procedures.

But Mr Putin's United Russia party appears to have an unassailable lead, tipped to easily win two-thirds of the seats in the state Duma. The tiny liberal parties are not expected to win a single seat. Nationalist firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky is hopeful of getting over the 7% threshold needed to qualify. But election analysts say much of his thunder has been stolen by the Putin agenda. The Communist Party is likely to form the main opposition in the parliament. But it's failed to widen its appeal since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Polling around 7.5%, it's a very uneven contest.

ALEXANDER VOROBYOV, COMMUNIST PARTY: (TRANSLATION) What fairness?! United Russia has resources tens of thousands of times bigger than ours.

Reports of electoral interference aside, the man credited with restoring order to Russia after the tumultuous years following the break-up of the Soviet Union looks set to remain in a singularly dominant position.

MAN: (TRANSLATION) We used to have a tsar, and now we have United Russia.

It seems to be all about stability, and for most, that's what Vladimir Putin appears to represent.

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{"commentId":1228974,"authorDomain":"ISPY"}

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Thanks AMERICA well done. you are now responsible for sabotaging the one thing that has been preventing WW3 from starting.

Regnum,

Putin: Withdrawal from CFE Treaty is our response to NATO

Russia needs to continue working on technical re-equipment of the Army and the Navy, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced at a meeting of the Russian Armed Forces commandment.

The Russian president reminded that the national arms program till 2015 envisages significant spending. "Mobile Armed Forces equipped under the newest trends are the key guarantee of Russia's security," RSN quotes the president as saying.

According to Putin, Russia's withdrawal from the Conventional Forces Treaty in Europe is a response to increase of NATO military presence at our borders. According to him, "we cannot let us remain indifferent to an evident muscle-flexing."

Russia is planned to impose moratorium on participation in the CFE Treaty at midnight of December 13.

{"commentId":1228974,"threadId":"183108","contentId":"1132075","authorDomain":"ISPY"}

1 vote

#1 - Fri Nov 30, 2007 6:17 AM EST

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Putin Best Of Bad Lot -Russians	SBS	Sat Dec 1	0
ABC News: President Putin: Vote For Me Or Else...	ABC News	Thu Nov 29	0
Putin Out to Fix Russian Election	Pajamas Media	Sat Dec 1	0
Putin Urges Votes for Pro-Kremlin Party	Associated Press	Wed Nov 28	1
Kasparov: Russian Election a Farce	Associated Press	Fri Nov 30	1

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Putin warns of 'humilation'

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