Liberalism in Russia

United Russia party of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has gained a stable majority in Parliament's lower house after the general election held on Sunday, official results indicate.

The same four parties that made up the previous State Duma have also entered the current one.

With 90% of ballot protocols processed, the party wins 54.21% of the vote for the 450-seat Parliament.

Scuffles have broken out in front of Russia's diplomatic services in Kiev and Odessa as Russia goes to the polls.

Clashes have erupted between police and protesters against Russia's policies toward Ukraine, Interfax has reported.

The two men arrested over the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov could have carried it out, the Investigative Committee of Russia has said.

A statement [RU] on its website follows the official report that two Russian citizens from the Caucasus were arrested over their alleged involvement in what Russian authorities suggest might have been "a contract killing".

Investigators are working on the hypothesis that the killing of Boris Nemtsov was related to his stance on the attack of Charlie Hebdo magazine.

"Nemtsov received threats related to his position on the shooting of journalists in the office of Charlie Hebdo edition in Paris," Vladimir Markin, who represents the Investigative Committee of the Russian Fed?ration, said in a statement.

Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead in Moscow late on February 27, was well-known as an oppositional leader and one of the main figures to harshly criticize Russia's politics as led by President Vladimir Putin.

The death of Russian opposition politician and former Deputy PM Boris Nemtsov resembles a contract killing, Russian authorities believe.

This comes after Nemtsov was shot dead on Friday, shorly before midnight local time (20:40 GMT).

Russia's President Vladimir Putin is now personally in control of the investigation, according to his spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Russian opposition politician and former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov has been shot dead in central Moscow.

Nemtsov was shot four times in the back by an unknown attacker, according to a law enforcement source, as cited by the Interfax news agency.

The killer is said to have escaped in a car.

The incident happened at around 23:40 local time near the Kremlin.