Russian poll results to stand despite protests: Putin aide

So even if hypothetically you recognise that they are being contested in court,then in any case,this can in no way affect the question of the vote8217;s legitimacy or the overall results, he added.

His comments came following an order from President Dmitry Medvedev for election authorities to look into reports of vote-fixing after Russias ruling partys narrow victory sparked the largest protest rallies.

Medvedev was humiliated after his Facebook page,in which he posted a message denouncing the 50,000-strong rally in Moscow,was flooded by protesters criticising the Russian president. Medvedev used the Facebook message to announce he had ordered an investigation into violations at the Russian parliamentary elections.

According to the report,protesters had directed their anger at Putin,who is expected to become president again in March.

Russians have expressed disgust at what they see as blatant election fraud and a lack of political freedom.

Protesters at the demonstration called for the election to be rerun and for Vladimir Churov,the head of the elections commission to be sacked.

Meanwhile,one of the fall-outs of the elections has been internal fractures appearing on Putin8217;s side. A longtime ally of Vladimir Putin called for the creation of a liberal party to fill a void in Russian politics exposed by mass protests against the prime minister8217;s 12-year rule,and cast himself as its potential leader.

Former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin8217;s proposal,if it gains support,could offer a way for Putin to channel discontent and reduce the threat posed by the biggest opposition protests since he took power in 1999.

Kudrin has however,also warned that the legitimacy of a presidential election Putin is expected to win in March would be undermined by any failure to address protesters8217; allegations of fraud in a parliamentary election on Dec. 4. That poll,he said,had shown the need for a strong liberal alternative to the ruling party.

Today it is clear that this deficit is even more dire than we could have imagined,said Kudrin,a fiscal hawk forced out in September after a dispute with President Dmitry Medvedev over lavish state military spending plans.

Today one can say that the demand for the creation of such a structure is so high that it will certainly begin to be created,Kudrin said in an interview published by the financial daily Vedomosti.

The process of the consolidation of liberal and democratic forces will now go forward. I am absolutely certain of this,and I myself am ready to support this,Kudrin said,adding that it was too early to talk about a potential leader.

Aware of growing discontent among politically savvy professionals eager for a stronger voice,the Kremlin turned to Kudrin early this year with a proposal that he lead a liberal,pro-business party that could counterbalance United Russia.

He rejected the offer,and an effort to turn the small Right Cause party into a significant force collapsed in acrimony between the Kremlin and the man chosen to lead it,billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.