Vodka gifts from Putin's party to lure voters: NGOs

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2007

MOSCOW (AFP) — Russia's ruling party is trying to lure voters in upcoming elections with free bottles of vodka and other gifts, campaigners from two non-governmental groups said in Moscow on Wednesday.

Yelena Panfilova, Russia director for Transparency International, an anti-corruption group based in Berlin, said at a news conference in Moscow that United Russia was giving "hidden bribes."

These gifts included sponsored vodka bottles, rucksacks, gloves and even jar lids carrying the United Russia symbol for the many Russians preparing jams for the winter season, Panfilova said.

The campaigner added that the Central Elections Commission (CEC) had rejected the bribery claims by saying that the gifts did not breach the law because they did not actually call on...