Russia's Putin warns of election violence

MOSCOW, Feb. 29 (UPI) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Wednesday told political allies he fears opposition groups may plan violence after Sunday's presidential election.

"They really want any kind of skirmishes … I've known this method and tactic for 10 years, and how they try to apply it, especially abroad," Putin told the All-Russian People's Front, a political group he created last year.

The Financial Times said Putin expressed concern the opposition would do anything it could to make it appear the election was fraudulent.

"They are looking among well-known people for a so-called sacrificial victim that they themselves, I'm sorry, could take out and then blame on the authorities … I hope that people who sincerely want the situation to improve in the country and use their right to criticize and demonstrate, that they will not give into this," he said. "But everyone should know about it."

Opposition leaders took Putin's comments as a veiled threat, but pressed forward with requests for permission to hold a Moscow demonstration Monday.

"I took these words of Putin very seriously, and strongly urge all in the opposition to take him seriously too," Solidarity group leader Boris Nemtsov told the Interfax news agency.