A Russian politician and member of President Vladimir Putin's party accused the Jews of destroying Russia.
Oleg Bolychev, a legislator from the ruling United Russia party at the regional parliament in Kaliningrad, made the comments in a speech before parliament on Feb. 6, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.
Bolychev called his detractors “Jews, mired in opposition,” during the parliamentary debate and added, “you destroyed our country in 1917 and you destroyed our country in 1991.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an award ceremony for young scientists in the Kremlin, Feb. 11, 2014 in Moscow. (Getty Images/Sasha Mordovets)
The Russian Jewish Congress condemned Bolychev and asked authorities to investigate his statement, JTA reported.
Bolychev reportedly came under fire from members within his party as well, some of whom have called for his resignation.
“It is incredible that a public figure can make such extremist statements,” lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein told French news agency Agence France-Presse.
But Bolychev rejected the accusations, saying: “I was not talking about Jews but about the situation in the country. I was speaking about traitors who destroyed a great state twice."
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