EN
23 November 2011 - 07:41 AMT

Saakashvili says Putin rule nears end

The boos and whistles that met Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, when he stepped into the ring at Olympiysky Stadium in Moscow after a martial arts fight, signalled the end for authoritarian rule in Russia, according to Georgia’s President.

“You’ve seen how Putin was whistled. This is the beginning of the end for the authoritarian rule in Russia. I am sure that their days are numbered,” Civil Georgia quoted Mikheil Saakashvili as saying.

Opponents of Vladimir Putin hailed an unprecedented show of public protest after the Russian Prime Minister was loudly booed by the crowd at a no-holds-barred fight night.

Putin faced whistles and boos on live television as he congratulated a Russian champion in the fighting – a sport in which the tough guy premier has always shown great interest – after his victory over an American.

The director of Olympiysky Stadium Mikhail Moskalyov, however, said that the audience was reacting as the American fighter left the ring.