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Surprise Exam Has Political Message

The last-minute test thousands of Russian children were suddenly required to take on the day of the biggest anti-government rallies in years contained political messages, revealed examples from some exams that have appeared on the Internet.

"I had no doubt that United Russia would win," read one of the examples from the hastily planned Russian language test that was posted on LiveJournal, according to Newsru.com.

Another example asked students to correct a mistake in a sentence that read: "By following the law, we serve the nation."

Officials announced Friday that students had to take the mandatory test on Saturday, the same day tens of thousands gathered in Moscow's Bolotnaya Ploshchad to protest alleged vote-rigging and United Russia rule.

A number of teachers have complained that the main purpose of the test was preventing young Russians from participating in the rally, according to numerous media reports. The teachers were ordered to secure 100 percent attendance by their pupils for the whole day.

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