A public spat took place Wednesday between senior members of A Just Russia, with Gennady Gudkov calling party leader Sergei Mironov a liar over comments he made about Gudkov’s participation in recent opposition rallies.
Gudkov — who is deputy chairman of the State Duma security council and was a mainstay at the Moscow protests — said Mironov had lied when he told Finam FM radio that Gudkov was given a “final warning” over his continued participation in the rallies.
“Mironov, let’s say, lied. There was no discussion of rallies and certainly not of warnings,” Gudkov wrote Thursday on Twitter.
After the election, in which Mironov came in last, he said the party would not attend anti-Kremlin protests.
But Gudkov and other party deputies continued to go to the rallies, and Mironov said Wednesday that he had given a “friendly” ultimatum to stop.
“We gave Gennady Gudkov what they call a final warning,” he told the radio station. “We shall not authorize you going as a representative of the party. If your actions or statements bring damage to the party, we will have to part ways.”
Gudkov said he was confused by Mironov’s invitation to protest leader Sergei Udaltsov to join the party.
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