俄羅斯安全部隊在莫斯科街頭巡邏

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has called for Russia's parliament election to be annulled and a new vote held. He said the results do not reflect the will of the people, and authorities must admit to fabrications and rigging. Opposition leaders and international observers say the poll Sunday was marred by widespread allegations of vote-rigging, ballot-box stuffing and other irregularitiesThousands of police and Interior Ministry troops are patrolling the streets of Moscow in a show of force aimed at avoiding a third day of protests against the alleged election fraud. More than 250 opposition protesters were arrested Tuesday in Moscow, and more than 100 were taken into custody in St. Petersburg. Pro-government supporters also rallied around the Kremlin. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party won Sunday's vote, but with a considerably reduced parliamentary majority, at around 50 percent.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday the elections were neither free nor fair, and the results raised "serious concerns." Russia's Foreign Ministry described Clinton's remarks as "unacceptable." Russian President Dmitry Medvedev characterized the elections as "fair, honest and democratic."前蘇聯領導人戈爾巴喬夫呼籲俄羅斯議會選舉作廢並舉行新的投票。他說，選舉結果並沒有反映出人民的意願，而且當局必須承認對選舉結果進行作假和舞弊。反對派領導人和國際觀察員表示，星期天的投票受到操縱選票、做假票和其它違規行爲的普遍指稱而受到影響。爲防止連續第三天出現抗議活動，反對被指稱有舞弊的選舉，數以千計的警察和內政部部隊在莫斯科街頭巡邏，顯示警力。250多名反對派示威者星期二在莫斯科被逮捕，在聖彼得堡有100多人被收押。親政府的支持者也在克里姆林宮周圍舉行了集會。俄羅斯總理普京所在的統一俄羅斯黨贏得了星期天的選舉，但其議會多數地位受到相當程度的削弱，只贏得約50%的席位。

美國國務卿希拉里·克林頓星期二表示，這次選舉既不自由也不公正，選舉結果引起“嚴重關切”。俄羅斯外交部說希拉里的言論是“不能接受”的。俄羅斯總統梅德韋傑夫稱，這次選舉是“公正、誠實和民主的。”