Sergei Glaziev calls on Kremlin to stop using 'black PR' in presidential campaign

Sergei Glaziev, a candidate in the Russian presidential elections and one of the leaders of the Rodina bloc in parliament, has called on the Kremlin to stop using 'black PR' in the presidential campaign. As a Rosbalt correspondent reports, Mr Glaziev said he did not believe the Russian president was behind it.

'I am sure that Vladimir Putin has nothing to do with it,' Mr Glaziev said. 'Certain favored officials simply want to show how useful they can be and prove their worth. They are simply clearing a political path for the president so that Mr Putin's presidential campaign simply feels like a stroll along Nevsky Prospect.'

According to the Rodina leader, the president has no need of such favors. Nonetheless, he said, there is reason to believe that the material 'printed in various publications is being financed directly by the people responsible for running the elections. We are aware that certain PR agencies received quite a large sum for printing 'analytical material' with the aim of discrediting me,' Mr Glaziev said. He called on the president to bring a halt to the use of underhand tactics. 'Putin can do it and by doing so he can promote democracy in Russia,' Mr Glaziev said.