A Merrier Parliament: Election Soundbites

Vladimir Putin: ‘Based on this result, we can ensure the stable development of our state.  Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this result.’

The Power Vertical: ‘[…] in the time between now and March, the Kremlin will — no doubt learning from Sunday’s experience — become more adept at using its administrative resources more effectively to make sure there are no similar embarrassments in the presidential election.’

David Hearst: ‘Putin needed a thumping majority from the Russian people.’

The OSCE: ‘To me, this election was like a game in which only some players are allowed to compete.’

President Dmitry Medvedev: ‘I for one am glad that we shall have a merrier parliament because we understand that truth can emerge only from a debate.’

Hillary Clinton: ‘Russian voters deserve a full investigation of all credible reports of electoral fraud and manipulation and we hope in particular that then Russian authorities will take action.’

Ivan Zasursky: ‘It looked as if [United Russia] had victory in the bag, so they could not mobilize enough support. They behaved as if they had it already.’

Voter in Sergiev Posad: ‘Fear is not the best way to reach the majority on the elections.’

Vladimir Pozner: ‘[…] there’s a feeling of being totally unprotected. If anyone from government wants to go after you, you have nowhere to go. […] If someone wants to take over your business they can take it over. […] Putin is no longer the darling of this country, [but] I think that when the presidential elections come around, he is going to win. Who else can you possibly vote for?’