Riot Police Arrest Dozens Of Election Protesters in Russia
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Riot police arrested dozens of marchers protesting at Russia’s flawed election yesterday shortly after Britain’s Gordon Brown warned the president-elect, Dmitry Medvedev, that he would be judged by his actions.
The clashes in central Moscow came as world leaders offered Vladimir Putin’s handpicked successor lukewarm congratulations but stopped short of condemning an election that critics have described as stage-managed.
The British Prime Minister pointedly chose not to telephone Mr. Medvedev, nor did he follow the normal custom of inviting new leaders of major world powers to visit London.
Instead, Mr. Brown wrote to Mr. Medvedev to say that he hoped for an improvement in relations between London and Moscow.
They have been badly damaged by rows over the murder of the former KGB agent, Alexander Litvinenko, and Russia’s decision to close British Council offices.
Other world leaders were more circumspect. President Bush said he “looked forward” to working with the new Russian leader. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France invited Mr. Medvedev to visit “as soon as he wishes.” But the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, was much more scathing about an election that has left the world uncertain as to who will really lead Russia. Mr. Putin will return as prime minister after his protege is inaugurated on May 7. “The election was conducted Russian-style, with a victory known in advance,” Mr. Kouchner said, adding that Mr. Medvedev was elected with “very surprising figures, not quite worthy of Stalin, but not bad.”
Mr. Medvedev won Sunday’s election with 70% of the vote, matching the figure that analysts have long said the Kremlin wanted him to receive.
The Moscow protest was conducted by the Other Russia movement, which is led by Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion who has become one of Mr. Putin’s most outspoken critics.
Thousands of police and paramilitary servicemen were deployed to counter an outlawed rally that was only ever going to attract a few hundred activists prepared to defy the atmosphere of repression that pervades Mr. Putin’s Russia.
