Russian Parliament Silences Opposition Lawmaker The use of the pejorative phrase to describe the pro-Kremlin United Russia party was popularized by an anticorruption advocate, Aleksei Navalny, who coined it on a radio broadcast last February, saying: "United Russia is the party of corruption. It is the party of swindlers and thieves. But while the phrase has been repeated at rallies against President Vladimir V. Putin, and can be seen on bumper stickers and the Internet, uttering it in Parliament is a particularly bold jab, and it prompted a complaint by fellow lawmakers against Mr. Ponomarev in the ethics committee. On Friday, Parliament voted 297 to 132 to censure him and bar him from speaking for one month, beginning on Oct. 16. The ban could silence Mr. Ponomarev during what is likely to be a contentious debate over the federal budget. Mr. Ponomarev, a member of the Just Russia party, has been one of the leaders of the big antigovernment street protests that began after disputed parliamentary elections last December. He also led a rare filibuster in Parliament this summer. On Friday, he said that abuses of power had stained the reputation of Parliament and of United Russia, of whose members "a great number of the people of our country call swindlers and thieves." Giving his last remarks ahead of the speaking ban, Mr. Ponomarev added, "We have many years of mutual work ahead of us, and I hope that over these years, we can destroy this stereotype not with words, but with actions." The censure came just two weeks after Gennadi V. Gudkov, a senior member of Just Russia and ally of Mr. Ponomarev, was expelled from the Duma, the lower house, after being accused of illegally operating a private business, in violation of restrictions on lawmakers. Mr. Gudkov has denied the charge. Both Mr. Gudkov's expulsion, the first of a deputy in more than 15 years, and the censure of Mr. Ponomarev signal an effort by the Kremlin to put pressure on critics within the government. A number of other political opposition leaders, including Mr. Navalny, have been threatened with criminal prosecution. In Parliament, members of United Russia have accused Mr. Ponomarev of waging a campaign of harassment against pro-Kremlin politicians, they and have suggested that he should be charged with defamation. "We have a sense of self-dignity and honor, and we will defend our honor against those people who try to damage us, who try to rock society, who try to discredit the entire deputy corps," Mikhail Markelov, a member of United Russia, said before Friday's vote. Mr. Ponomarev, who often delivers his irreverent speeches against the majority while wearing jeans and a sweater, was also rebuked for dressing sloppily. "I ask you to maintain the right appearance; come in normal clothing," said a member of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, which joined in support of censuring Mr. Ponomarev. There is not one person here not wearing a coat and tie.