Putin attacks US for stirring up anger on streets

Police patrol on Manezhnaya square outside the Kremlin in Moscow. They plan to be out in force tomorow (AP)

Vladimir Putin launched an extraordinary attack on the United States yesterday, blaming the Americans for stoking discontent in Russia in his first major comments on the street protests that have sprung up since parliamentary elections on Sunday.

As Russians continued to sign up in thousands on Facebook for a co-ordinated series of protests planned tomorrow, the Russian Prime Minister said that the US had spent "hundreds of millions of dollars" trying to influence the outcome of the elections.

He personally accused the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of sparking the protests, claiming that she "gave a signal" to Russia's opposition leaders by describing the election as rigged. "They heard this signal and with the support of the US State Department began their work," said Mr Putin.

Ms Clinton, who had said Russian voters deserved an investigation into allegations of fraud in Sunday's elections which gave Mr Putin's United Russia party 49 per cent of the vote, said later yesterday that her criticism had been "well-founded". International observers have said the poll was rigged in Mr Putin's party's favour.

The spat over the elections, as well as disagreements over missile defence, threaten to derail entirely the "reset" in relations between the two countries.

Mr Putin, who plans to return as President next year, has frequently claimed that his political opponents are financed from abroad and are traitors. He has described them as "jackals" waiting outside foreign embassies for handouts.

But with protests now attracting thousands of young Russians who have never demonstrated before, it is not clear whether playing the "foreign enemy" card will work for Mr Putin.

Protests are planned in 78 Russian towns and cities for tomorrow, by far the biggest of which is due in Moscow. About 50,000 police and 2,000 paramilitary troops are patrolling the city's streets, backed by water cannon.

Yesterday, the Mayor's office asked the organisers to move the meeting from Revolution Square, near the Kremlin, to a different location, but it was unclear last night if they would agree. Authorities say a maximum of 300 people can protest if the rally is held on Revolution Square, and if more attend, they will be arrested. By yesterday evening, over 30,000 people had signalled their intention to attend on a Facebook group dedicated to the event, while another 15,000 signed up to a similar group on the Russian social network Vkontakte.