Friday, December 09, 2011

RUSSIA - Vote-Fraud Protests Reverberations

Russian Politics 2011

"Vote-Fraud Protests Could Mean 'Unpalatable Dilemma' for Kremlin" PBS Newshour 12/8/2011

Excerpt

JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour): And now, in Russia, an embattled Vladimir Putin turns on the United States.

The war of words has spread from Russia's streets to the world stage, where Vladimir Putin forcefully criticized Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today for meddling in Russia's internal politics. The Russian prime minister claimed the U.S. was encouraging dissenters who've denounced Sunday's parliamentary elections as rigged in favor of Putin's party, United Russia.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russian prime minister (through translator): I have looked at the first reaction of our American partners. And, straight away, the secretary of state assessed the elections as dishonest and unfair. She set the tone for some of our personalities inside the country and gave them a signal, and they heard this signal. And, with support from the State Department, they started active work.

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