Putin: Russians never to allow the nation to take a destructive path

Photo: Putin: Russians never to allow the nation to take a destructive path

United Russia’s victory mean that Russia trusts President Vladimir Putin, he said Monday.

"Of course, it's a sign of trust," said Putin who led the ticket of the main pro-Kremlin United Russia party.

United Russia won about 70 percent of parliament seats, strengthening its domination of the lower house and paving the way for Putin to stay in charge even after he steps down next spring.

Putin said in televised remarks that Sunday's vote showed that "Russians will never allow the nation to take a destructive path like happened in some other nations in the ex-Soviet space."

"That's a good sign of increased political stability," he said.

The Kremlin has accused the United States of sponsoring public uprisings that ousted unpopular governments in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan in 2003-2005. Pro-Kremlin lawmakers and activists have alleged that the United States was plotting similar unrest in Russia.

Putin's statement follows a campaign in which he took a strongly anti-Western stance, denouncing his liberal opponents as "foreign-fed jackals" and accusing the United States of trying to undermine the vote's legitimacy by persuading the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe not to send observers. Washington and the OSCE have rejected the allegations.