Putin supporters show up in large numbers

Sri Lanka Source Saturday 4th February, 2012

A conspicuous show of support has been made for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Around 140,000 people attended a rally on Saturday in which placards were raised announcing Putin as a man "to trust."

Many of the supporters said they had attended on their day off in a stand for free choice.

They said they wanted the West to realise they were now a free people with a free vote.

Some described Putin as "honest, fair and conscientious."

Putin is likely to return as Russia's president next month after having spent the past four years as Russia's prime minister. The outcome however is not certain following the controversy of elections last year which many within Russia, as well as in the West, charged that the results were manipulated and subjected to routine fraud.

Mikhail Gorbachev is one prominent Russian who says it is time for Putin to go.

If elected to the presidency (for the second time) and is re-elected for a following term, it will mean Russia will have been effectively led by Putin for more than 20 years.