MOSCOW, March 1 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and his aides have created a mysterious pro-Kremlin political youth party, The Independent reported Tuesday.
Called Nashi, or One of Us, the group reportedly was formed with the intent of getting "300,000 people on to the streets to defend Russia" from the threats of "external governance", "orange revolution" and "American intrusion," the report said.
The group's unidentified leaders said in a policy statement the goal was to "reach maturity" well before the 2008 presidential elections.
A Kremlin-backed youth group with 100,000 members already exists and is led by ideologist Vasily Yakemenko, who used to work in the Kremlin administration. But the group, called Walking Together, has suffered negative media by a campaign to "purify Russian literature" by weeding out "harmful" books and claims students were coerced into joining by their universities.
The party has been lampooned by a new opposition youth group in St. Petersburg called Walking Without Putin.
