Protests, arrests in Moscow as Putin loses sheen

Putin's statement came a day after his United Russia party lost its parliamentary majority in Sunday's Duma polls that were marred by accusations of fraud by independent observers.

An anti-Putin wave seemed to have swept Moscow following the results as thousands of protesters, the largest in over a decade, took to the streets chanting a "Russia without Putin!" and "Down with the Party of Swindlers and Thieves!".

Even as hundreds were arrested and thousands of troops were deployed to prevent another demonstration in the capital, Putin sought to play down the election reverses, saying his party had retained a "stable" majority.

"Yes, there were losses, but they were inevitable," the 59-year-old Russian strongman, a former KGB agent, said.

"They are inevitable for any political force, particularly for the one which has been carrying the burden of responsibility for the situation in the country," he said.

United Russia obtained 238 seats in the 450-seat State Duma in Sunday's polls, down sharply from the 315 seats it won in the last polls in 2007, election commission chief Vladimir Churov told reporters.

The election was also hit by widespread allegations of fraud in poll procedure in favour of United Russia.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed "serious concerns" while contending that Russia voters deserved a "full investigation of electoral fraud and manipulation".