Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday. (Reuters)

St Petersburg, Nov. 26 (Reuters): President Vladimir Putin accused Washington today of plotting to undermine December parliamentary elections seen widely as a demonstration of his enduring power in Russia.

Putin, drawing on resurgent nationalist sentiment ahead of Sunday’s poll, also said Russia must maintain its defences to discourage others from “poking their snotty noses” in its affairs.

Europe, however, joined the US in voicing concern over a weekend police crackdown on protests by an Opposition that says it has been banished from the airwaves and from the streets by an overbearing Kremlin. Putin, who must step down as President early next year, said he saw Washington’s hand in a decision by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s ODIHR monitoring arm to abandon plans to observe the poll.

“We have information that, once again, this was done on the recommendation of the US state department,” Putin said at a meeting with activists of his United Russia party.

“Their aim is to deprive the elections of legitimacy, that is absolutely clear,” he said in his home city of St Petersburg. ODIHR has said Russian obstruction left it with no choice but to cancel the monitoring mission.

Kasparov plea fails

Russian Opposition leader Garry Kasparov failed today in an appeal against his detention during a street protest at the weekend, one of his aides said. Kasparov was one of dozens arrested in protests in Moscow and St Petersburg that were broken up by riot police using truncheons.