You're reading: Putin belittles Russia’s political opposition

MOSCOW (AP) — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin disparaged Russian dissidents in crude street language in an interview Monday and said they would keep getting beaten if they kept holding unauthorized rallies.

Putin has never shown much tolerance for dissent. For much of the past decade, when he was president, Russia cracked down on opposition leaders and increased government control of the media. Now as prime minister, Putin still wields tremendous influence over policy, despite the presence of President Dmitry Medvedev. Putin has also been coy over whether he will run in the 2012 presidential election.

In the interview published in the newspaper Kommersant, Putin defended his record and touched on a variety of topics.

He said President Barack Obama seemed sincere in his desire to improve Moscow-Washington relations, despite U.S. policies that appeared more hostile.

He also said imprisoned oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky deserved his punishment. Khodorkovsky, serving an eight-year sentence after being convicted of fraud and tax evasion, is now on trial on new charges that carry a sentence of up to 22 years.

Putin said in the Kommersant interview that he was surprised to learn of the second case against Khodorkovsky. That claim caused some wry amusement among Khodorkovsky’s supporters, who say the legal assault against him was punishment for challenging Putin.

It was questions about the political opposition, though, that inspired the colorful language Putin seems to love.

"What’s good about the contemporary world?" Putin was quoted as saying. "You can say something around the corner from a public toilet and the whole world will hear because all the television cameras will be there."

Russia’s opposition leaders depend on international television exposure because they are blacklisted from Russian television and their protests are rarely aired.

Putin predicted that Russian police would keep breaking up opposition protests unless the dissidents obtain official permission to rally — permission they are routinely denied in central Moscow.

"You will be beaten upside the head with a truncheon. And that’s it," Putin declared.

Opposition leader Boris Nemtsov said the interview showed Putin to be "dishonest, ignorant and evil."

"It’s clear that the call to beat your own people, moreover those who are unarmed and not showing any resistance, is a crime," Nemtsov wrote in his blog.