“Austrian federal authorities have denied Russia’s request for expelling of former Stavropol Mayor Dmitry Kuzmin. The former Mayor is charged with mismanagement of authority and offences causing losses of 19 million roubles to the state budget. In 2007 Kuzmin was the leader of the party “Yedinaya Rossiya” regional organization, and Stavropol Region became the only one in the whole Federation where “Yedinaya Rossiya” did not succeed in the election to local parliament. Short before the federal parliamentary election of 2007, a criminal case was brought against Kuzmin, he was dismissed and announced as a searched person. While inspecting Kuzmin’s office, operatives found a German Nazi flag and decorations of the Third Reich. In August 2008, Kuzmin was detained at the Vienna airport, and Russia’s Office of Prosecutor General turned to the Austrian authorities asking to expel him.”

Grani.ru.

It is nothing new that the Vladimir Putin lead party “Yedinaya Rossiya” has its specific methods how to act against its political opponents. Actualizing of the Dmitry Kuzmin case makes one considering how far the Russia’s elite-in-power is ready to go. The initiated criminal procedure stipulating just a prohibition to keep a position in state administration institutions, became an obviously political undertaking at the moment when militia found attributes connected with German Nazi in Kuzmin’s office. The Kremlin ideologists are well aware that mentioning of Nazi is the best tool for influencing the public opinion in Russia. Thereby Kuzmin has been turned not only in a financial criminal, but also, according to the pattern used by the Soviet period KGB, in a Nazi ally and neo-Nazi supporter.