President Medvedev orders probe into Russian elections

Looks like Facebook isn't just a place for announcing relationship statuses.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev posted on his Facebook page today that he will launch an official probe into the December 4 parliamentary election in his country, according to Al Jazeera.

This announcement came after several large protests against election fraud have been taking place across the country.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Medvedev's party, United Russia, was accused of rigging the election to ensure they would win the majority.

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According to CNN, Medvedev's Facebook post read: 

"I agree neither with the slogans nor the statements voiced at the protests… Nevertheless, I have ordered checks into all the reports from polling stations, regarding the compliance with the election laws."

Al Jazeera reported that previously, he only launched investigations for specific polling locations that were accused of tampering with votes.

Throughout this post-election voting ordeal, The New York Times reported that the recent events in Moscow reflected a change in public mood.

Not only were demonstrators granted a permit for 30,000 people to protest, but also police officers remained fairly peaceful during the incidents.

Furthermore, "To the astonishment of many," reported the Times, "the event was covered neutrally on state-controlled television, which rarely acknowledges Mr. Putin's critics."

In September, Putin also announced that he would run for President in March 2012. If he wins, he will have been Russia's predominant leader for 18 years.

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