Vladimir Putin's critics spoil presidential campaign launch Mr Putin's website, which was first registered in 2009, two years before he said he would run for president, came under attack from his critics. In an apparent oversight, the site's moderators initially failed to vet a section allowing voters to leave suggestions for Mr Putin. It was therefore initially bombarded with hostile comments urging him to leave politics which were rated as the most popular before the site's administrators began deleting some of them. "Leave politics please," wrote one man. We understand that power is a drug but it would be a dignified act. Mr Putin's spokesman denied the negative comments had been deleted however, claiming the site had "frozen" for a few hours because it was so popular. Even though he remains Russia's most popular politician and would easily win a presidential election if it was held tomorrow (albeit in the second round), Mr Putin is facing an unprecedented wave of discontent over his dominance of political life. Tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets to protest against his United Russia party's victory in a parliamentary election last month, alleging the contest was heavily rigged in its favour. Middle class voters in Moscow and St. Petersburg in particular appear to have become disenchanted with the glacial pace of political reform and have started vocally demanding that Mr Putin step down. But the 59-year-old former KGB agent, who was president from 2000-2008 and has been prime minister for the last four years, appears unfazed. His spokesman said on Thursday it was unlikely he would even take part in televised political debates with his opponents because he was apparently too busy. "Participating in TV debates calls for certain actions like formally taking time-off (from his job as prime minister) but that would interfere with his duties and you know how busy his programme is," said Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman. Mr Putin's opponents accused him of political cowardice with Gennady Zyuganov, the Communist party leader, saying he was keen to debate the major issues of the day with Mr Putin.