In particular, Ms. Khakamada complains that the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation rejected her complaint and the complaint of Nikolai Kharitonov, an election candidate nominated by the Communist Party, to give them the same amount of airtime as was given to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who runs for re-election. On February 12, a state-run TV channel broadcast Mr. Putin's meeting with his supporters.

"If this situation does not change, I do not rule out pulling out of the elections," Ms. Khakamada noted. In her opinion, all members of the opposition running for the office of President should do the same, in the first place, Nikolai Kharitonov and Sergei Glazyev.

However, Mr. Kharitonov said he was not going to withdraw from the race. He said Ms. Khakamada, an independent candidate, "can have various opinions", but he was nominated by the Communist Party, and he was unable to take such decisions.

Mr. Kharitonov said the Presidium of the Communist Party was not going to discuss his withdrawal from the elections. "We will continue fighting," he stressed. At the same time, Mr. Kharitonov said neither he himself nor the leadership of the Communist Party were satisfied with the present situation. In particular, he spoke about "blatant violations" of election rules by the authorities, including the incumbent President and the media.

Mr. Glazyev's reaction is not yet known.

Seven candidates are taking part in the presidential elections, including Sergei Glazyev, the leader of the Rodina (Motherland) bloc and a member of the State Duma; Oleg Malyshkin, nominated by the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia; Sergei Mironov, Speaker of the Federation Council (the upper house of Parliament), nominated by the Russian Party of Life; Vladimir Putin, the incumbent President of Russia; Ivan Rybkin, the former head of Russia's Security Council; Irina Khakamada, a member of the SPS (Union of Right Forces) party; and Nikolai Kharitonov, nominated by the Communist Party.

Under Russian law, a candidate can withdraw from presidential elections not later than 5 days before the voting. Russia's presidential election is scheduled for March 14.