Russian paper says Kremlin wants to see multi-party regional parliaments.

Text of report by the website of heavyweight Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta on 16 February

[Article by Alisa Vedenskaya: "A four-party system for the regions"]

It seems that the LDPR leader's dream will come true.

After the March elections, the regional parliaments will be made up primarily of deputies from four parties. Nezavisimaya Gazeta has learned that the Kremlin let local officials know it would not tolerate a repetition of what happened in the October Moscow election, when only two parties won seats in the city duma. Polls conducted by sociologists, however, indicate that only United Russia and the CPRF can surmount the 7 per cent bar at this time.

Officials in the Kremlin have decided to insure themselves against another demarche by the opposition to protest the March election results. A message was sent to the governors: The four parliamentary parties must win representation in the regional legislative assemblies. Regional leaders might have to pay a high price for a repetition of the Moscow election results, which allowed only two parties - United Russia and the CPRF - to occupy seats in the Moscow City Duma. …