President Dmitry Medvedev called Tuesday for an easing of “accumulated restraints” in Russian political life, saying this was needed to avert serious divisions in society.
“We need to take new decisions, to take real and more decisive steps to eliminate accumulated restraints on political activity,” Medvedev said in a meeting with the leaders of the four parties that secured seats in parliament in recent elections.
His comments came three days after tens of thousands of people held a mass protest in Moscow against alleged cheating in legislative elections on December 4 won by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.
Medvedev said it was “obvious” that new steps were needed to free up Russian politics and added this was important “so as not to allow social divisions between certain social groups and also certain institutions.”
Medvedev topped the United Russia ticket in the elections to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, and Putin last month accepted the party’s nomination as its candidate in presidential elections due next March.
Medvedev didn’t specify steps the government needs to take to unbridle Russian politics. Not a single new party was registered in Russia during the Medvedev’s presidential term, despite multiple attempts by various political forces to do this.
Medvedev has said that irregularities reported in the election, in which United Russia suffered sharp losses but nonetheless retained a parliamentary majority, must be investigated and, if proven, punished.
Russian voters unhappy with the conduct and outcome of the vote, as well as some international observers and even U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have criticized the election, saying it was slanted in favor of the United Russia party.
Meanwhile, the billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov who announced he plans to challenge Putin for the presidency was considering bidding to purchase the respected Kommersant publishing house, according to Andrei Belyak, spokesman for the Prokhorov’s Onexim Group company. Prokhorov pledged Monday to create a new liberal political party, shortly after the deputy head of the presidential administration in charge of domestic politics, Vladislav Surkov, and Putin’s former deputy in the Cabinet and a long time Putin ally, Alexei Kudrin, said that such a party is needed in order to represent urban educated middle class.
The publishing house went under an intense media spotlight Tuesday, after two of its top managers were fired by its owner, metals tycoon Alisher Usmanov. The magazine published in its Dec. 12 issue several photos of wall drawings and of a vote ballot marred with obscene texts defaming Putin. The issue was devoted to description and analysis of alleged vote fraud during the Duma vote. Russian bloggers debated the move intensely in the social networks Tuesday, arguing whether professional ethics or political censorship was the reason behind it.
Medvedev said Tuesday that he will deliver his state-of-the-nation address on Dec. 22, the day after the new Duma convenes for the first time. Previously, Medvedev would deliver presidential addresses in October and November.
Meanwhile, Putin’s office started Tuesday to collect questions from Russians for the traditional live televised Q&A session set for Thursday, Dec. 15. So far, Putin remained silent over the massive protests that many analysts have described as challenge to Putin’s leadership.
Also on Tuesday, the leader of A Just Russia party, Sergei Mironov, filed his documents to be registered as a presidential candidate.
Liberal Democrats named their leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky their presidential candidate at their Tuesday congress.
Putin was the first candidate to be nominated, from United Russia, and to submit documents to the Central Election Commission.
