MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian liberal opposition leader Grigory Yavlinsky could be barred from running against Vladimir Putin in a presidential election after officials said on Monday there were problems with his registration as a candidate.

Opinion polls show Yavlinsky has no chance of winning the March 4 election but the refusal to let him run would be a slap in the face for leaders of protests by tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding fair elections and political reform.

Central Election Commission officials told Russian news agencies there were errors in about a quarter of the 2 million signatures of support Yavlinsky had submitted as a requirement to enter the election, much higher than the permitted amount.

A final decision on his candidacy is expected to be announced by the commission later this week or next.

Reducing the number of candidates could improve Putin’s chances of winning the election in the first round, avoiding a run-off he would face if he does not receive at least 50 percent of the votes cast.

“This is a totally political decision,” Yavlinsky, 59, told a news conference, a view shared by other opposition leaders and representatives of the Yabloko party he co-founded.

Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin wrote in a blog: “Putin will decide this matter himself.”

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian liberal opposition leader Grigory Yavlinsky could be barred from running against Vladimir Putin in a presidential election after officials said Monday there were problems with his registration as a candidate.

Opinion polls show Yavlinsky has no chance of winning the March 4 election but the refusal to let him run would be a slap in the face for leaders of protests by tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding fair elections and political reform.

Central Election Commission officials told Russian news agencies there were errors in about a quarter of the 2 million signatures of support Yavlinsky had submitted as a requirement to enter the election, much higher than the permitted amount.

A final decision on his candidacy is expected to be announced by the commission later this week or next.

Reducing the number of candidates could improve Putin’s chances of winning the election in the first round, avoiding a run-off he would face if he does not receive at least 50 percent of the votes cast.

“This is a totally political decision,” Yavlinsky, 59, told a news conference, a view shared by other opposition leaders and representatives of the Yabloko party he co-founded.

Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin wrote in a blog: “Putin will decide this matter himself.”

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia is concerned that the Arab Spring revolutions could sow further turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa by provoking a potentially catastrophic rift between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

In written answers to Reuters, Lavrov said the events in the region were still unfolding and cautioned that social, political and religious tensions showed signs of increasing.

“There are serious fears about the possible emergence of new zones of instability in the region that could become potential sources of challenges to international stability and security,” Lavrov said.

Such threats, he said, included the spread of terrorism, contraband weapons, the narcotics business, illegal immigration and especially the use of religion to ratchet up tensions.

“Attempts to bring the religious factor into regional confrontations are especially troubling,” said Lavrov, the longest serving Russian foreign minister since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

“If there were an open rift between Sunnis and Shi’ites – and such a threat is fully realistic – then the consequences could be catastrophic.”

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has warned the West that meddling in rebellions across the Arab world risks bringing radical Islamists to power and undermining long-term stability in the world’s biggest oil-producing region.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Dmitry Medvedev called on Thursday for comprehensive reform of Russia’s political system to try to appease protesters staging the biggest demonstrations since Vladimir Putin rose to power 12 years ago.

In his last state of the nation address to parliament as president, Medvedev outlined plans that would ease the Kremlin’s tight grip on power, including restoring the election of regional governors and allowing half the seats in the State Duma lower house of parliament to be directly elected in the regions.

His opponents, preparing for new protests across Russia on Saturday, dismissed his offer as the empty promises of a lame-duck president who is stepping aside for Putin to return to the main seat of power next year after four years as premier.

“Today, at a new stage in the development of our state, supporting the initiative proposed by our prime minister, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, I propose a comprehensive reform of our political system,” Medvedev told rows of deputies in an hour-long speech which was greeted by occasional applause.

“I want to say that I hear those who talk about the need for change, and understand them. We need to give all active citizens the legal chance to participate in political life.”

The moves were intended to address calls for change by tens of thousands of protesters who have taken to the streets since a December 4 election which they say was rigged, but Medvedev and Putin have ignored their main demand – to rerun the poll.

An aide said the proposals would be sent to parliament in the next few days.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Dmitry Medvedev called on Thursday for comprehensive reform of Russia’s political system, trying to appease protesters who have staged the biggest demonstrations since Vladimir Putin rose to power 12 years ago.

In his last state of the nation address to both houses of parliament as president, Medvedev said he wanted to restore the election of governors who until now have been directly appointed by a Kremlin keen to keep a tight grip on power.

“Today, at a new stage of development of our state, supporting the initiative proposed by our prime minister, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, I propose a comprehensive reform of our political system,” Medvedev said.

“I want to say that I hear those who talk about the need for change, and understand them. We need to give all active citizens the legal chance to participate in political life.”

The moves were intended to address calls for change by tens of thousands of protesters who have taken to the streets since a December 4 election which they say was rigged, but Medvedev ignored their main demand – to rerun the poll.

His words may also have little weight for the opposition as he is about to step aside for Putin to return as president and critics say he has failed to carry out many of his promises since he was ushered into the presidency by Putin in 2008.

Medvedev had already called for an overhaul of the political system at a meeting with his United Russia party on Saturday but provided few details of his plans.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Dmitry Medvedev has called for an overhaul of Russia’s “exhausted” political system in a sign that street protests and dissatisfaction with Vladimir Putin’s 12-year rule are starting to have some impact.

The two men have dismissed the protesters’ claims that a December 4 parliamentary election was marred by fraud and ignored calls for a rerun. They also sought to play down the significance of the demonstrations as Putin prepares to return to the presidency in an election next March.

But Putin hinted at some token political concessions in his annual question-and-answer phone-in on Thursday. He said he might change the law to let opposition parties be registered and allow regional governors to be elected, rather than chosen by the president, if their candidacy is approved in advance.

Medvedev, who is junior to Putin under their power-sharing arrangement, went further on Saturday by telling members of the United Russia movement that the political system and the ruling party needed reforms.

“We are facing a new stage in the development of the political system and we can’t close our eyes to it. It has already begun,” Medvedev said in a transcript released by the Kremlin and published on the presidency website.

“It didn’t begin as a result of some rallies, these are just on the surface, foam if you like. It’s a sign of human dissatisfaction,” he said. “It started because the old model which has served our state faithfully, truly and well in the last few years, and we all defended it, has largely been exhausted.”

Medvedev did not give any details of how United Russia and the political system, largely built around Putin, should change. But evoking the chaos that followed the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution made clear the risks of ignoring the mood of the people could be far-reaching.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Vladimir Putin offered to ease slightly his tight political control of Russian politics in token concessions to protesters he suggested had been paid to turn out in the biggest demonstrations since he took power 12 years ago.

In a 4-1/2 hour call-in question-and-answer show that was broadcast live across Russia and intended to rebuild support as he prepares to reclaim the presidency, the long-serving prime minister sought to portray himself as a reasonable, even-handed national leader who can unite his people.

But many Russians on the social network Twitter suggested his efforts had failed, saying the 59-year-old former spy was out of touch three months before the presidential election he hopes to win.

Breaking his silence on rallies by tens of thousands of people on December 10 Putin mixed words of praise with suggestions that some of the demonstrators complaining of electoral fraud and demanding a new election were paid to show up.

“I saw on people on the TV screens … mostly young people, active and with positions that they expressed clearly,” Putin said. “This makes me happy, and if that is the result of the Putin regime, that’s good — there’s nothing bad about it.”

“They will at least make some money,” he said, without saying who he thought might have been the paymaster. Putin has in the past, to the derision of opponents, suggested the United States had stirred protests and foreign states had funded them.

Putin, 59, said that at first he thought the white ribbons worn by the protesters as a sign of dissent were part of an anti-AIDS campaign, and he had mistaken them for condoms.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday dismissed opposition allegations that fraud had helped his ruling party win a parliamentary election and signalled he would not bow to calls at mass protests for the poll to be rerun.

In his annual televised call-in question-and-answer session he tried to shrug off the significance of the biggest opposition protests of his 12-year rule. Initial reaction on social media suggested many Russians see him as out of touch with his people.

Putin, dressed in a suit and tie behind a desk as he took questions by phone and from a studio audience, looked less at ease than in previous years in an appearance intended to help rebuild his authority before a presidential election in March.

“From my point of view, the result of the (December 4) election undoubtedly reflects public opinion in the country,” Putin said in a show broadcast live to the nation.

“As for the fact that the ruling force, United Russia, lost some ground, there is also nothing unusual about this. Listen, we have gone through a very difficult period of crisis, and look at what is happening in other countries.”

He said it was now significantly easier for the opposition to recruit dissatisfied people to their ranks.

“But United Russia after all retained its leading position, and that’s a very good result,” he said.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday deflected opposition allegations that fraud helped his ruling party win a parliamentary election, saying the result reflected the views of the population.

In his annual televised call-in question-and-answer session he also shrugged off the biggest opposition protests of his 12-year rule, saying they were permissible if they remained peaceful and within the law.

Putin’s first public remarks since Saturday’s mass protests signaled he would not bow to the protesters’ demands for the December 4 election to be rerun. But he made a gesture to them by calling for cameras to be installed at polling stations for a presidential election which he hopes to win on March 4.

“From my point of view, the result of the (December 4) election undoubtedly reflects public opinion in the country,” said Putin. taking questions from a studio audience in a call-in broadcast live to the nation.

“I am proposing and asking for the installation of web cameras at all the polling stations in the country,” he said.

Putin, 59, has used the annual call-in to burnish his image as a strong, effective and caring leader with a detailed knowledge of the country and an interest in each of its citizens.

But he is under much more pressure this year following protests by tens of thousands of people over the election, which international monitors said was slanted to favor his United Russia.