Political tensions in Russia have boiled over into a protest in parliament with opposition politicians walking out over what they claim were rigged elections.

The United Russia party, backed by President Dmitry Medvedev and led by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was the biggest winner in the municipal vote. The walk-out is significant as it involved parties that are normally not overly critical of the Kremlin. United Russia’s more vocal liberal opponents are not represented in the Duma. The claims of voting irregularities have been backed up by independent observers who say the turnout was much lower than officially reported.More about: Parliamentary debate, Russia

Copyright © 2012 euronews