SOCHI – Russia’s president Dmitry Medvedev said there was a danger of rising ethnic tension after he gave the green light yesterday for a December parliamentary election that will set the stage for the presidential vote next March.
Mr Medvedev set December 4th as the date for the election to the 450-seat State Duma, the lower house of parliament, dominated by prime minister Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party.
“What we definitely need to eliminate during the campaign are the attempts to incite ethnic hatred. This is categorically unacceptable,” Mr Medvedev told leaders of seven political parties. “Such attempts and calls will be decisively suppressed.” Moscow saw its worst ethnic riots since the fall of the Soviet Union last December when nationalist youths attacked passersby who were of non-Slavic appearance near the Kremlin in what President Dmitry Medvedev called “pogroms”.
The riots were triggered by a police decision to release people suspected of murdering a Russian soccer fan, a move widely viewed as fraudulent. Many commentators said anger about endemic corruption was also to blame for the violence.
Russia’s mainstream political parties, whose leaders met Mr Medvedev, are expected to address the ethnic issues during the campaign and the president urged them to be cautious.
“We agree with Medvedev that this issue is a real powder keg in our country which has over 100 nationalities and where 28 million Muslims live,” said Gennady Semigin, leader of Patriots of Russia party, after the meeting.
Mr Medvedev, who has loosened electoral laws, making it slightly easier for other parties to field candidates and win seats, said: “I would very much like the make-up of the future Duma to reflect the preferences of the broadest circle of our citizens to the maximum extent possible.”
Critics say the changes are cosmetic adjustments designed to appease critics of United Russia while keeping the political system intact. The vote is by party list with no races between individual candidates. – (Reuters)