Russia: Politicians walk out

Dozens of Russian politicians staged a rare walkout from Parliament yesterday to protest at what they and independent monitors describe as rigged local elections.

It was the first time in nine years that all factions except the main Kremlin-favoured United Russia party had walked out in protest.

United Russia won an overwhelming victory on Monday in more than 7000 local elections.

United Russia is a power base for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has not ruled out a return to the presidency in 2012.