In session

Russia's parliament, the State Duma, opened its first session Wednesday in the shadow of mass post-election protests earlier this month that were sparked by opposition claims of vote fraud.

The session opened with the election of a new speaker, Sergei Naryshkin, who promised more genuine debate to win back the trust of the voters and ensure that the parliament was more than just a rubber stamp for government initiatives.

"I would like to stress: a parliamentary majority is by no means a monopoly," said Naryshkin on Wednesday. "I am in favor of parliamentary debate. My firm conviction is that, indeed, parliament is a place for very serious and substantial discussions."

His predecessor, United Russia chairman Boris Gryzlov, quit the post earlier this month following the protests. He was once quoted as saying that "the Duma is not a place for discussion."

Longtime Putin loyalist

The 57-year-old Naryshkin is a longtime Putin loyalist, and until Tuesday was chief of staff for President Dmitry Medvedev. He is widely believed to have served in the KGB in the 1980s, though his official biography glosses over that time period.

Naryshkin is a member of Putin's United Russia party, which won 238 of the 450 seats in the Duma in the controversial election on December 4.

Among the United Russia representatives sitting in the parliament are also a number of celebrities, including Olympic rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabayeva, former world tennis number one Marat Safin and actress and Playboy cover girl Maria Kozhevnikova.

Critics have called the inclusion of celebrity star power an attempt to depoliticize the Duma and fill the parliament with popular household names, yes-men rather than critics.

Continued protests

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the leader of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, one of three minority parties in parliament, said street protests would come to an end if demonstrators saw their concerns being discussed and addressed by the Duma.

"People are demanding freedom and expansion of democracy," said Zhirinovsky.

Earlier in the day, however, police broke up a small protest outside the Duma and arrested about a dozen people, some wearing signs saying, "We didn't vote for you."

Tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets following the parliamentary election earlier this month, with the next large protest scheduled for December 24. More than 30,000 people have said on Facebook they plan to attend.

On Wednesday, shortly before the Duma's first session, anti-Kremlin blogger Alexei Navalny and other opposition activists were released from prison after serving 15-day jail terms for taking part in an unsanctioned rally protesting the election results.

The Kremlin, which has promised to investigate reports of poll violations, said Wednesday in a statement that it had received interim results of a probe from the Interior Ministry and investigators.

According to the statement, 462 campaign violations were recorded in Moscow, the largest number found so far. Authorities are still conducting five probes into ballot stuffing in Moscow and several other regions.

Author: Martin Kuebler (AP, AFP)
Editor: Michael Lawton