Russian opposition lawmaker barred from floor

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's parliament has voted to bar an opposition lawmaker from the floor for a month after referring to deputies in the ruling party as "crooks and thieves."

The Friday decision to bar Ilya Ponomaryov from speaking in parliament comes two weeks after fellow Just Russia party member Gennady Gudkov was expelled from the Duma for allegedly running a business in violation of parliament rules.

The politicians were two of only a handful of lawmakers to join the ranks of a growing popular street-based movement opposed to President Vladimir Putin's rule that emerged last year.

"Crooks and thieves" was a term coined by prominent opposition figure and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny to describe Putin's political party, United Russia.

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