Mikhail Gorbachev, Former Soviet Leader, Calls For New Election In Russia

**Momof3angels** · December-8th-2011, 09:39 AM

MOSCOW — Popular anger against Vladimir Putin's ruling party and alleged election fraud boiled over into a third straight night of protests Wednesday, and police in Russia's two largest cities arrested scores of demonstrators.

The demonstrations in Moscow and St. Petersburg appeared to attract fewer protesters than in previous days, roughly 300 in each city, but Russians' willingness to risk jail time and clashes with police indicated significant tensions that could spread.

More than 17,000 people have signed up for a Facebook page calling for a massive demonstration Saturday on Moscow's Revolution Square. Authorities have sanctioned the rally, but say it has to be limited to 300 participants, so a far larger turnout would almost certainly provoke a harsh police response.

Putin's United Russia party lost a significant share of its seats in Sunday's parliamentary election for the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, but will still have a majority. Opponents say even that result was achieved by widespread vote fraud.

United Russia had two-thirds of the seats in the 2007 vote, making the party unassailable and allowing it to push through constitutional changes.

The latest protests came hours after former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev urged Russian authorities to annul the results of Sunday's vote and hold a new one, according to the Interfax news agency.

"More and more people are starting to believe that the election results are not fair," he told Interfax. "I believe that ignoring public opinion discredits the authorities and destabilizes the situation."

Gorbachev, whose 1985-91 rule ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union, remains widely admired abroad but is widely disliked or regarded as insignificant at home. His call for a new election could further encourage the opposition, but is unlikely to influence those in power.

The 80-year-old Gorbachev has long had tense relations with Putin, but until recent years had refrained from directing his criticism of Russian politics at Putin. Putin, for his part, has been extremely critical of Gorbachev's legacy, blaming him for the Soviet Union's demise
Putin has shown no sign now of moving to appease the protesters. On Wednesday he registered his candidacy for the March presidential elections, in which he seeks to win a third term.

Putin, 59, was president from 2000 to 2008, then switched to premier due to term limits. But even in that No. 2 slot, the steely Putin dominated Russian political life, overshadowing his mild-mannered and hesitantly reformist successor Dmitry Medvedev. His selection in March is virtually guaranteed, and it's possible he could lead Russia until 2024.

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**Sean Osborne** · December-8th-2011, 02:15 PM

Rut-roh... that's not gonna go over well with ol' Pooty-Poot.

**Momof3angels** · December-8th-2011, 08:16 PM

Originally Posted by Sean Osborne

Rut-roh... that's not gonna go over well with ol' Pooty-Poot.

**readyforhome** · December-8th-2011, 09:17 PM

Every time I have seen Putin in any pictures all I can think of is how sinister he looks. Wasn't he KGB or some other secret security force? Hmm, I find it extremly funny how he has tried to make sure everyone knows how much of a man he is by performing various dangerous stunts, horseback riding, swimming in extremly cold water without a shirt on. I heard of at least one phot op were he was surrounding himself with young women.

**Sean Osborne** · December-9th-2011, 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by readyforhome

Every time I have seen Putin in any pictures all I can think of is how sinister he looks. Wasn't he KGB or some other secret security force?

Yes, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, who had wanted to be a spy since his childhood, joined the KGB right after graduation from Leningrad State University in 1975 and worked within the First and Second Directorates of the agency for ten years. From 1985 to 1990 the KGB stationed Putin in communist East Germany. After the collapse he was reassigned by the KGB to the university he had attended. Then in July 1998 Russian President Boris Yeltsin appointed Vladimir Putin to be head of the FSB, a successor agency to the KGB.

Hmm, I find it extremly funny how he has tried to make sure everyone knows how much of a man he is by performing various dangerous stunts, horseback riding, swimming in extremly cold water without a shirt on.

Putin was a very rowdy as a child. At 10 years old he channeled that rowdiness and began practicing the Russian martial art of Sambo (literally, self defense without weapon) and Judo, both of which he quickly earned the expert mark of black belt. Even at 59 years old nobody messes with Putin, he really is all that and more, which is why he's so dangerous. Never underestimate an enemy; know him better than you know yourself.