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Fake Medvedev Twitter Account Is Closed

A fake Twitter blog of President Dmitry Medvedev that made ripples recently by hinting that Vladimir Putin might be ousted as prime minister has been closed, Interfax reported.

The account, blog_medvedev, asked its 42,000 followers last month whether billionaire-turned-Right Cause party leader Mikhail Prokhorov "deserves" to be the next prime minister, the report said.

Prokhorov has said several times in recent weeks that he would not mind becoming prime minister if his party gains a large number of seats in December's State Duma elections.

The fake blog, whose authors remain unidentified, was taken down at the Kremlin's request, the Kremlin press service said. Twitter has not commented, but its rules prohibit users from impersonating other people.

Medvedev has a private Twitter blog, MedvedevRussia, with 375,000 readers and an official account, KremlinRussia, with 88,000.

Another fake presidential Twitter, ru_medvedev, was launched in March 2009 and operated until June 2010, when it also was suspended at the Kremlin's request. The blog boasted about 10,000 followers, and its authors remain unknown.

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