Putin Supports Controversial Anti-Protest Bill Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signaled his support for a controversial bill that would increase fines 200-fold for those taking part in unsanctioned protests. The bill received preliminary approval by the Kremlin-controlled lower house on Tuesday. Three parties in the Duma - excluding the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, which holds a majority in parliament - voted against it. Alleged widespread fraud in the December Duma election sparked mass street protests, unprecedented in post-Soviet Russia. The protests have evolved into regular rallies and, in Moscow, continuous Occupy-style protest decrying Putin's election. Opposition lawmakers have warned that the bill will only fuel broad outrage and destabilize Russia by depriving the public of a legal way to voice grievances. Putin on Wednesday defended the bill, describing it as "strengthening democracy." "We must shield our people from radical actions," he said in remarks broadcast from a meeting with United Russia. The society and the government have a right to protect themselves from this. A protest rally a day before Putin's May 7 inauguration spilled into violence between protesters and the police. Authorities blamed the opposition, while opposition leaders say the violence was incited by unknown provocateurs.