Moscow: Russian police on Saturday impounded a truck full of Communist Party literature without explanation as the country officially kicked off its campaign for December 4 parliamentary polls.

The State Duma elections are expected to return Prime Minister Vladimir Putin`s ruling United Russia to power for the third time running and leave the Communist Party trailing in distant second place.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

But Kremlin officials fear that growing discontent with political cronyism and corruption may dampen voter turnout and keep United Russia from securing the super-majority it holds today. That in turn could spoil the mood around Putin`s expected return to the Kremlin in March elections in which he swaps jobs with President Dmitry Medvedev and potentially keeps power for another 12 years.

The Communist Party has never won more than a quarter of the vote in any Duma election and is now targeting a performance of about 15 percent.

Its hopes have historically rested on support from the struggling central regions of industrial Russia such as Tula -- once a famed tsarist fortress 190 kilometres (120 miles) south of Moscow. A local Communist Party official told the Interfax news agency that police had intercepted a truck travelling from the city with 84,000 copies of a left-wing newspaper detailing the group`s electoral platform.

"I think they are looking for an excuse to exclude us from these elections," the Communist Party official said.

PTI