Russia's president Dmitry Medvedev said there was a danger of rising ethnic tension after he gave the green light on Monday for a December parliamentary election that will set the stage for the presidential vote next March.
Medvedev set Dececember 4th as the date for the election to the 450-seat State Duma, the lower house of parliament, dominated by prime minister Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party.
"What we definitely need to eliminate during the campaign are the attempts to incite ethnic hatred. This is categorically unacceptable," Mr Medvedev told leaders of seven political parties. "Such attempts and calls will be decisively suppressed."
Moscow saw its worst ethnic riots since the fall of the Soviet Union last December when nationalist youths attacked passers-by who were of non-Slavic appearance near the Kremlin in what president Dmitry Medvedev called "pogroms".
The riots were triggered by a police decision to release people suspected of murdering a Russian soccer fan, a move widely viewed seen as fraudulent. Many commentators said anger about endemic corruption was also to blame for the violence.
Russia's mainstream political parties, whose leaders met with Mr Medvedev in his Black Sea residence, are expected to address the ethnic issues during the campaign and Medvedev urged them to be cautious.
"We agree with Mr Medvedev that this issue is a real powder keg in our country which has over 100 nationalities and where 28 million Muslims live," said Gennady Semigin, leader of Patriots of Russia party, after the meeting with the president.
Steered into the presidency in 2008 by Mr Putin, who faced a constitutional bar on a third straight term, Mr Medvedev has loosened electoral laws, making it slightly easier for other parties to field candidates and win seats.
"I would very much like the makeup of the future Duma to reflect the preferences of the broadest circle of our citizens to the maximum extent possible," Mr Medvedev told party leaders.
Critics say the changes are cosmetic adjustments designed to appease critics of United Russia while keeping the political system intact.
The vote is by party list with no races between individual candidates. The parties are now expected to compile the lists and those parties not represented in the Duma will also have to collect 150,000 signatures.
Mr Medvedev's talk of plurality seemed aimed at appealing to Russians who are tired of the primacy of United Russia, which holds a two-thirds Duma majority, large enough to change the constitution, dominating politics nationwide.
United Russia's senior official, Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov, said in remarks published today the party's aim is to preserve its constitutional majority.
With opinion polls and regional elections showing flagging support for the 'party of power', Mr Putin established a broad 'People's Front' earlier this year in a bid to improve its chances in the parliamentary vote.
Mr Putin has hinted he is trying to decide whether to run for a return to the presidency in March or endorse his protege Mr Medvedev for a second term. Analysts say he may not make a decision public until after the parliamentary election.
Reuters