A leading ally of Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he was quitting his post as Russian parliament speaker, after polls that saw the ruling party lose support and face protests against vote-rigging. Boris Gryzlov is the highest-profile casualty yet of the controversy surrounding the December 4 parliamentary elections that has for the first time shaken Putin’s decade-long domination of Russia.
“I have decided to renounce my mandate as a member of parliament… It would be wrong to occupy the post of speaker for more than two terms,” said Gryzlov in a statement on the website of the ruling United Russia party.
