Russia's opposition movements have joined forces in a bid to better their chances against President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the 2012 presidential election, dpa cited the Interfax news agency as reporting Thursday. The coalition, which pledges to fight arbitrary actions and corruption, hopes to bring forward a common candidate. Former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov is among its founders, along with former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov. A change of government is indispensable to alter Russia's political course, Kasyanov was quoted as saying by Interfax. He also announced that the coalition would hold its first demonstration on October 9. But experts don't believe the group will have much of a fighting chance against Medvedev and Putin. "There is no recognised figure around which everybody can rally," political scientist Alexei Makarkin noted. He predicted that the opposition would also face "logistical and ideological problems." The government controls Russia's state media. Civil rights activists have also accused the country's leadership of stifling protests with police-state methods. Observers additionally have raised allegations of voter fraud. To participate in a Russian election, a political party must produce the signatures of at least 45,000 supporters. "No party of the non-parliamentarian opposition has succeeded so far in registering," Makarkin noted.
