PUTIN SAYS U.S. BEHIND POLL BOYCOTT

The European NGO called the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe intended to observe and monitor the upcoming Russian elections. Putin's government refused to cooperate, so the OSCE decided it was in their best interest to leave.

Now, Putin is blaming the United States. Doesn't that sound familiar? After all, we are the Great Satan, source of all evil, right?

From the BBC:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of pushing Western observers into boycotting Russian elections. Mr Putin said the goal was to discredit the parliamentary election to be held on 2 December.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has categorically rejected the allegations.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has expressed concern at the treatment of the opposition in Russia.

'Nonsense'

The OSCE's election monitoring unit announced earlier this month that it would not attend Russia's election, saying Moscow had refused to provide visas to its staff.

The OSCE later said it would send a delegation of European MPs - rather than a full OSCE team - to monitor the vote.

Mr Putin said the boycott decision "was taken on the recommendation of
the American state department".

"The aim is to discredit the elections, but they won't achieve their goal," he said.

"We will certainly take this into account with our bilateral ties with this state," he added, referring to the US.

But a spokeswoman for the OSCE in Warsaw, Urdur Gunnarsdottir, called Mr Putin's allegations "nonsense".

"The decision was not made in consultation with any government. It was made on operational, not political grounds," Ms Gunnarsdottir told the BBC.

"Our decision did not have the aim to influence the election."

Meanwhile:

The head of the European Union's executive arm, European Commission President
Jose Manuel Barroso, has expressed worries about a weekend crackdown by Russian
police on protests by opponents of President Vladimir Putin.

"I was very concerned to see reports of police harassment and arrests of politicians and peaceful demonstrators in Russia in the last two days," Mr Barroso said in a
statement.

"The right to free speech and assembly are basic fundamental human rights and I very much regret that the authorities found it necessary to take such heavy-handed action."

Police broke up an opposition rally on Sunday, arresting 150 people in St Petersburg, including opposition leader Boris Nemtsov - who was later freed.

Another opposition figure, former chess champion Garry Kasparov, was arrested at a rally in Moscow on Saturday.

*******RELIAPUNDIT ADDS:

Putin needn't worry about OSCE's withdrawal: JIMMY CARTER WILL GLADLY DO FOR PUTIN'S TYRANNY WHAT HE DID FOR HUGO CHAVEZ'S TYRANNY.

IT'S SEEMINGLY ONE OF JIMMY CARTER'S FAVORITE THINGS: CERTIFYING THE ELECTIONS OF AN ANTI-DEMOCRACY/ANTI-AMERICAN TYRANTS!