Russia protests suggest absence of strong opposition – former NKR FM

PanARMENIAN.Net - Protest actions which broke out in Russia after State Duma elections prove the absence of strong and unified opposition in the country, according to former Foreign Minister of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

As Arman Melikyan told a news conference in Yerevan, “obviously, electoral violations didn’t enrage Russia’s population enough to trigger mass riots.”

According to Melikyan, though only meant to spark media attention, the action can signal the start of a new dissident movement in Russia.

Member of ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Artak Davtyan who acted as OSCE international observer during State Duma elections, however, noted that the vote was held in full accordance with Russia's electoral legislation.

Commenting on recent demonstrations, Davtyan noted that representatives of Community Party, which gained the second largest number of votes, did not join the protest rallies.

On December 5, Moscow saw a major rally, with demonstrators protesting State Duma election results. Over 300 people were arrested, including a number of public figures.

The ruling United Russia party won 49.54% of the votes in parliamentary elections, securing 238 seats out of 450 in the lower house for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s party.