MOSCOW — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin strongly criticized Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday, accusing her of encouraging and funding Russians protesting election fraud. He also warned of a wider Russian crackdown on dissent.
By describing Russia’s parliamentary election as rigged, Mrs. Clinton “gave a signal” to his opponents, Mr. Putin said.
“They heard this signal, and with the support of the U.S. State Department began their active work,” Mr. Putin said in televised remarks.
He said the United States is spending “hundreds of millions” of dollars to influence Russian politics with the aim of weakening a rival nuclear power.
Mr. Putin’s tough words show the deep cracks in U.S.-Russian ties despite President Obama’s efforts to “reset” relations with the Kremlin.
Ahead of the election, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened to deploy missiles to target the U.S. missile shield in Europe if Washington failed to assuage Moscow’s concerns about its plans.
Mrs. Clinton repeatedly has criticized Sunday’s parliamentary vote in Russia, saying “Russian voters deserve a full investigation of electoral fraud and manipulation.”
Russian protesters took to the streets in Moscow and St. Petersburg for three straight nights this week despite a heavy police presence. They were outraged over election observers’ reports of widespread ballot-box stuffing and manipulations of the vote count.
The protests have been some of the biggest and most sustained protests in years, and police have detained hundreds of demonstrators.
Thousands are expected to join a protest in Moscow on Saturday, and similar gatherings have been called in more than 70 other cities.
Mr. Putin’s United Russia party barely held onto its majority in parliament, with official results giving it about 50 percent of the vote, down from 64 percent four years ago. The fraud allegations indicate that support for United Russia was even lower, and Russians appear to be growing weary of Mr. Putin and his party after nearly 12 years in office.
Mr. Putin was president from 2000 until 2008, when he moved into the prime minister’s office to abide by a constitutional limit on two consecutive terms. He intends to reclaim the presidency after an election in March that would give him at least six more years in power.
Moscow has already put about 50,000 police and 2,000 paramilitary troops on the streets, backed by water cannons.
Mr. Putin warned that the government might take an even harder line against those who try to influence Russia’s political process on behalf of a foreign government. He accused the State Department of spending “hundreds of millions” of dollars in Russia.
“We are the largest nuclear power,” Mr. Putin said, addressing supporters during a televised meeting. “And our partners have certain concerns and shake us so that we don’t forget who is the master of this planet, so that we remain obedient and feel that they have leverage to influence us within our own country.”
Mrs. Clinton reached out to Russia on Thursday.
“I think it’s important to recognize that we value our relations with Russia,” she said at a NATO meeting in Brussels, where she also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “We have invested a great deal of effort on working together, and we have made progress.”
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