Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned on Monday against interethnic aggression during parliamentary elections which he set for December 4.
“One should learn to lose as well as to win honestly,” Medvedev told Russian party leaders at a meeting near the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.
Race hate slogans ahead of the vote should be “prevented at all costs,” the president said.
He warned of dire consequences facing anyone trying to sabotage the elections for the Russian parliament’s lower house, the State Duma.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party has recently called for mandatory primary elections but other parties have shown little enthusiasm for the proposal.
Russia will hold presidential elections in March next year, though the date has not yet been announced.