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Subscribe to RSSStory update 11.30am ET/8.30am PT: The rallies staged in Russia over the weekend were a good sign for democracy, the White House said on Monday. "The demonstrations that occurred in Moscow and in many other Russian cities last Saturday represent a very positive sign to all those who support the democratic process," White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters. "Russian government authorities allowed the demonstrations to take place, and refrained from interfering in them," he said.
MOSCOW - President Dmitry Medvedev was publicly denounced and insulted on his own Facebook page on Monday by thousands angry over alleged fraud in Russia's parliamentary election.
The Russian President ordered an investigation into claims the December 4 election, won by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, was slanted in its favor.
Dmitry Medvedev's offical Facebook page.
He announced the inquiry on Facebook (link in Russian) – the same site used by organizers of mass rallies in Moscow and St. Petersburg on Saturday – that called for the elections to be annulled and rerun. The protests were Russia's biggest opposition rallies since Putin rose to power in 1999.
Within hours, Medvedev received one insult after another on the social media website from people who made clear his response to the demonstrations was insufficient.
NBC correspondent Stephanie Gosk said the majority of the 12,000 comments were negative – a remarkable act of open defiance in a country where political activists are jailed and hostility to the government would have been unusual only a few weeks ago.
One posted called Medvedev "a liar", while another told him: "Time to go".
Medvedev said: "I do not agree with any slogans or statements made at the rallies. Nevertheless, instructions have been given by me to check all information from polling stations regarding compliance with the legislation on elections," Medvedev said in his Facebook post.
"We don't believe you," replied Natalia Akhi.
Irina Arapova asked: "And who's going to do the checking? The executive authorities (United Russia)?"
The next big day of protests is planned on December 24 when Alexei Navalny, one of the protest leaders, will have served a 15-day jail term received for his role in a protest last week.
In yet another sign that the Russian leadership is under pressure, the governor of the Vologda region, Vyacheslav Pozgalev, resigned on Monday saying it was impossible to govern with the new level of public distrust.
Russian news agency RIA said Pozgalev – a Kremlin appointee and United Russia party member – wrote on his Twitter account: "I have filed a resignation petition to the president. I consider it impossible to run the region with such a level of distrust."
A pro-Putin demonstration is due to be held in Moscow later on Monday, while the next major opposition rally is already planned for December 24.
Anger over the election – which international monitors and the United States found fault with – unleashed years of pent-up frustration with Putin and his tight political controls. Frustration had mounted since September, when he announced plans to reclaim the presidency next year, opening up the possibility of him ruling until 2024.
State television and other channels broadcast footage of Saturday's big protest in Moscow, attended by tens of thousands, breaking a policy of showing almost no negative coverage of the authorities. However, the reports included no criticism of Putin.
Medvedev is a keen user of social media, according to the BBC. In addition to Facebook, he has Twitter accounts with 759,000 followers in Russian and 144,000 in English.
NBC News correspondent Stephanie Gosk and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Pooty Poot seems to be in a bit of trouble, but he can always just kill all of his opponents.
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Governments do not create wealth. Ordinary people do. Local government is more accountable and is good. Federal Governments do not properly work anywhere in the world. No politician has the requisite skill or ability to make a significant difference in the lives of citizens. We are entering into a cynical age where ordinary people throughout the world are questioning the underlying purpose of Government. Do governments actually serve the people? If they make no serious attempt to really know who we all are and what we all need, they are creating a fool's paradise.
Oh no no no Moscovites using Facebook to promote democracy? Blasphemy.
Time to bring out the ole tear gas...
...Pooty Poot is somehow such a fitting name. Good one Buffale
Actually, George W. Bush deserves the credit for Pooty Poot.
yep. he showed him how to be a court appointed President. The popular vote never counts here in the USA.
Just remember we can't complain about their democracy just look at ours.
Deb- Aint it the truth
JR- Don't kid yourself about comparing our democracy to their "democracy"
Just followed the link to Medvediv's Facebook page and read some of the posts on it, fortunatly I can read Russina reasonably well. The best responces were the ones that used Medvediv's own words against him. To his statement that he did not agree with any slogans from the demostrations many people pointed out that the main one was "Fair Elections" and asked him if he does not agree with that one as well. There were some that supported him, those tended to have a very strong nationalistic smell to them, but most that I saw were hostile to the "President" and some openly told him to leave.
Thank you, Ilya. I, too, looked at the page, but to get a translation, you have to join Facebook. I won't do that, but I did make out a couple of sentences and phrases here and there that made me proud of Russians. I did make a comment on an earlier article saying that if Russians took to the streets in thousands, and not just hundreds, the government would HAVE to listen. That was before I knew how many there were! And that proves what I was trying to say. With so many people in the streets and on the internet, there is safety in numbers and not enough room in the jails to arrest them all. The Constitution must have been changed! I thought the term of the Russian Presidency was seven years, and now it states it would be 12 years?? Wow. That's a long time to be stuck with one "ruler." Putin must have sneaked that one through the DUMA before the people knew it to insure his continuing for his lifetime. More power to the people!!
Slowly, but surely, Russia is moving out of the Middle Ages to the 21st Century. Thirty years ago, this kind of activity would never have been permitted, and heads would have rolled - literally. Wishing the Russian people the best of luck in ridding themselves of this corrupt regime.
Highly integrated world require trustworthy, knowledgable, just leaders who concidere themselves as world citizens, devoted to work for the betterment of global issues.
It apears that leadership has lost public trust everywhere, as their personal and party interests are their priority concern; especialy during the election times; what leaders need is a little bit more empathy to regain the lost public trust.
Obviously, democracy still needs maturing to solve the election problems.
MSNBC - "President Dmitry Medvedev was been publicly denounced and insulted"
"was been"? Please MSNBC, spend some money on English majors to proof check!
PS. EVERYBODY in the world are allowed to protest but Americans...
America encourages citizens from Russian, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Cuba, Libya, Egypt... to take to the streets and protest. Not only protest but to overthrow their governments. Do you think those citizens apply for a permit first? Yet peaceful Americans who take the street are shot, maced, clubbed, jailed and fined. The Corporate (Wall Street) Media doesn't point out this hypocrisy.
Ummmm Fresh_Water...I think everything in parentheses might need to be corrected and anything in brackets could be replaced as well ...but you should fact check me to be sure:
"MSNBC - "President Dmitry Medvedev was been publicly denounced and insulted"
"was been"? Please MSNBC,
spend some money on English majors to proof check[invest your money by employing English Majors to proofread your articles]!P(.)S. EVERYBODY in the world are[is] allowed to protest but Americans(cannot?)...
America encourages citizens[foreign people] from[like] Russian(s), Iran(ians), Iraq(is), Afghanistan[Afghanis], Venezuela(ns), Cuba(ns), Libya(ns), (and) Egypt(ians)... to take to the streets and protest. Not only (to) protest but to overthrow their governments. Do you think those[these] citizens (should have to) apply for a permit first? Yet peaceful Americans who take the street(s) are shot, maced, clubbed, jailed and fined.
The Corporate (Wall Street) Media doesn't point out this hypocrisy.Corporate-dominated Wall Street media does not point out this obvious hypocrisy. "Now it could just be a fluke, but I have a hunch that every human makes mistakes. Feel free to investigate this theory of mine for yourself.
I think you missed one, Cody. I believe the generally accepted phrase would be, "...Americans who take 'to' the streets... ."
Never trust a Russian politician! Until the Russians return Karelia (my ancestral homeland, which they stole after WWII) to Finland, I will distrust any Russian politician, no matter what his or her political leanings!
Who here believes that Medvedev is actually running Russia? (crickets chirping) Who here believes Medvedev isn't anything more than a placeholder until Putin could run again for President? (dead silence)
The street protest proves that Russia has a sound democracy.
It is strange to notice that the heads of US government and its media are
aching!
no one mentioned a facebook backlash when NATO bombed libya, yet it happened and was ignored..