Moscow: Mikhail Prokhorov, one of Russia’s richest tycoons and the owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team has announced on Monday that he will compete against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the March presidential election.
He announced this during a press conference in Moscow. He said that “the society is waking up and those authorities who will fail to establish a dialogue with the society will have to go.”
Prokhorov, whose wealth the Forbes magazine has estimated at $18 billion, has been cautious not to cross Putin’s path in the past.
But the tycoon’s candidacy may now pose a serious challenge to Putin, whose authority has been dented by his party’s poor showing in Russia’s Dec. 4 parliamentary election and allegations of widespread fraud during the balloting.
On Sunday, President Dmitry Medvedev promised on his Facebook page that the alleged vote fraud during the parliamentary election will be investigated. But Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, predicted Monday the probe will show that little vote fraud occurred and that it had no effect on the outcome.
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