Mocks U.S. Senator John McCain, saying he has 'blood of innocent civilians' on his hands
Meanwhile, rival pledges to free jailed billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky
By REBECCA SEALES
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has given an incendiary TV interview accusing protest organisers of working to weaken Russia on orders from the West.
Putin, whose authority has been rocked by recent demonstrations against alleged vote fraud, told a call-in TV show: 'That's a well-organized pattern of destabilizing society.'
The strongman insisted that the 4 December parliamentary election which triggered Russia's biggest protests for 20 years was a genuine reflection of the people's will.
Blame: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said protest organisers were acting at the West's urging
He even sought to put a good spin on the protests by saying they reflected a rise in public activity that he welcomes.
Last week, Putin dismissed criticism of the vote by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as part of American efforts to weaken Russia.
Under pressure: Putin appeared live on TV amid public anger over alleged vote fixing in Russia's parliamentary elections
On Thursday he alleged that the organisers of Saturday's Moscow demonstration had paid some of its participants and called them sheep.
He also unleashed his occasional penchant for barbed and crude remarks by dismissing the white ribbons that many demonstrators wore.
Abuse: Putin implied Senator John McCain's time as a prisoner-of-war in Vietnam had addled his mind
'When I saw them on TV I thought it was part of campaigning for HIV prophylactics, and they put some contraceptives on,' he said. The ribbons have become a widely adopted symbol of the protests.
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His dismissive comments and insistence that the recent election was valid are likely to fuel further anger and may draw even bigger crowds to protests planned for this month.
Putin later lashed out at U.S. Senator John McCain, calling him mad and describing the killing of Colonel Gaddafi as 'repulsive'.
McCain had goaded him with a Twitter post saying 'the Arab Spring is coming to a neighborhood near you', prompting former KGB-agent Putin to attack his past as a combat pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam.
'He has the blood of peaceful civilians on his hands, and he can't live without the kind of disgusting, repulsive scenes like the killing of Gaddafi,' Putin said.
RIVAL SAYS HE'D FREE JAILED BILLIONAIRE
Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov plans to challenge Vladimir Putin in Russia's spring presidential election.
He has said his first move if elected would be to pardon jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who has been in prison since 2003 on tax evasion and fraud charges seen as a punishment for defying Putin's power.
Prokhorov said he would also allow free registration of opposition parties and restore elections for provincial governors.
He is 46 years old, and worth an estimated $18 billion, having made his fortune in metals, banking and media.
'Mr. McCain was captured and they kept him not just in prison, but in a pit for several years,' he said. 'Anyone (in his place) would go nuts.'
Putin said the results of Russia's parliamentary election reflected popular opinion, and that the opposition had alleged vote fraud purely to strengthen its position.
'The results of this election undoubtedly reflect the real balance of power in the country,' he said. 'It's very good that United Russia has preserved its leading position.
His dismissive comments and insistence that the recent election was valid are likely to fuel further anger and may draw even bigger crowds to protests planned for this month.
'The opposition's goal is to fight for power, and it's looking for every chance to advance.'
The unprecedented wave of protest currently sweeping Russia poses a significant challenge to Putin less than three months before presidential elections in which he will be seeking to return to the Kremlin.
On Thursday he sought to counter public discontent by proposing to place web cameras at each of Russia's more than 90,000 polling stations before the 4 March presidential vote.
'Let them be there next to every ballot box to avoid any falsifications,' he said.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2074537/Vladimir-Putin-says-killing-Gaddafi-repulsive.html#ixzz1geXkQPAH
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