Outcry as new opposition party silenced

Russia has denied registration to a new political party created by three prominent opposition leaders, effectively barring them from participating in upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.

The Justice Ministry's decision on whether to register the People's Freedom Party was seen as a test of president Dmitry Medvedev's pledges to increase political competition in Russia. Opposition parties were squeezed out of politics under his predecessor, Vladimir Putin, now prime minister.

Mikhail Kasyanov, who served as Putin's prime minister from 2000 to 2004 and is now one of the opposition party's leaders, bluntly described Medvedev's pledges as empty words.

"Nothing that has been said or promised by Medvedev during these past three years has materialised," Kasyanov said.? "It has only got worse: more pressure on political opponents, even more falsification in regional elections."