Medvedev: protesters are 'sheep getting fucked in the mouth'

RUSSIA'S unfolding political crisis has descended into farce after President Dmitry Medvedev appeared to take to Twitter to accuse opposition activists of being "stupid sheep getting fucked in the mouth".

Russians unhappy at the prospect of another five years of rule by Medvedev, Vladimir Putin and their United Russia party have taken to the streets to protest every night since Sunday's parliamentary election.

The poll was won by Putin's United Russia party, with just under 50 per cent of the vote. This represents a big decline in popularity - and opposition activists say United Russia's share would have been even lower were it not for electoral fraud.

Russian police have come down hard on protesters, arresting 900 - including two opposition leaders, Alexei Navalny and Ilya Yashin, who have both been jailed for 15 days.

Navalny has risen to prominence as a blogger for coining the phrase 'party of thieves and crooks' to describe United Russia.

It is this phrase that is referred to in Medvedev's controversial tweet.

Just after midnight last night, Reuters reports, someone 'retweeted' a post by a user called 'Rykov' on the president's official Twitter feed, @MedvedevRussia.

The tweet read: "It has become clear that if a person writes the expression 'party of thieves and crooks' in their blog then they are a stupid sheep getting fucked in the mouth :)"

Nobody believes the president is responsible, but it is a blow to his image as a tech-savvy leader. The Kremlin blamed an unidentified official and said: "The guilty will be punished."

Meanwhile, pressure builds on Putin before the presidential elections due on 4 March 2012...

December 10 rally - 'beware bloodbath'

By mid-morning today, nearly 27,000 people had said on Facebook they will attend a weekend protest near the Kremlin. More demonstrations are planned in 80 other cities across Russia, including St Petersburg. But The Guardian reports that Vladimir Milov, an opposition leader, has warned people against turning out for the protests, fearing they could end in "big blood". He wants people to concentrate their efforts on the presidential election in March "Blood and unrest can throw the 'Russian spring' far back," he said. "We don't need that now."

Gorbachev calls for new election

The last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, has called for the weekend election results to be annulled and a new poll held, The New York Times reports. "With every passing day, more and more Russians are ceasing to believe that the results of the elections were honest," said Gorbachev, who is an unpopular figure among Russians. "In my view, ignoring public opinion will discredit the authorities and destabilise the situation. That is why I think the government should make but one decision: annul the results of the elections and hold new ones."

Putin 2.0 to be unveiled

Putin is nothing if not a pragmatist and is reportedly willing to change his stance on "strategic priorities" and overhaul his Cabinet, according to Bloomberg. Sergei Markov, a former MP with Putin's United Russia party who now heads the Institute of Political Studies, said: "We'll see the new Putin before the elections, 100 per cent. If nothing is done, the downward trend will continue. Putin must stop it."

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Putin, has already told the BBC that "people expect a Putin 2.0". He said: "It's obvious that the party will have to reinvent itself and Putin, as a candidate for another presidential term in this country, will have to present new ideas, proposals and make new alliances." ·