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Authorities reviving Soviet system with elements of capitalism - Kasyanov

MOSCOW. May 19 (Interfax) - The recent changes in the Russian elections system signify the reconstruction of the Soviet system with elements of capitalism, former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov told a Thursday press briefing.

President Vladimir Putin signed a law on the State Duma elections on Thursday. The law stipulates the election of State Duma deputies in the federal electoral district proportionately to the number of votes for federal candidate lists.

Kasyanov thinks that the new law "contradicts the constitution and the law on guarantees of election rights, and monopolizes political activities in the hands of the incumbent authorities."

He thinks that the law bars new forces from the political scene and makes it possible to falsify elections. "There is an impression that the authorities are creating conditions for future falsifications. I recall the old saying 'it does not matter how they vote, it matters how the votes are counted'," he said.

Kasyanov said that move was wrong and could ruin democratic fundamentals in Russia.