Pro-Putin deputies, in turnabout, slam Russia finmin

MOSCOW, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Deputies from the pro-Kremlin United Russia party have criticised the Finance Ministry for overspending, which could put further pressure on veteran Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin.

An open letter signed by some prominent deputies was posted on Monday on the website of United Russia, www.edinros.ru., which has an overwhelming majority in the Duma lower house of parliament and previously voted for Finance Ministry budgets.

"The speed of spending the money we have been saving for years forced us, a group of deputies from the United Russia faction, to openly state our opposition to the policy carried out by the Finance Ministry's bureaucrats," the deputies wrote.

Among the signatories is Andrei Isayev, head of the Duma's labour and social policy committee.

"We have already spent hundreds of billions but it did not stop the crisis," they added.

There are signs the financial crisis is putting a strain on Russian politics. Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Klepach this week ran into trouble with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin after saying Russia is already in recession [ID:nLC281555].

Some politicians are seeking scapegoats for the economic downturn, with the Communists, for example, openly blaming Kudrin, finance minister since 2000.

In October, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov asked Putin to fire Kudrin, but his request was dismissed [ID:nL9579301].

A known fiscal hawk, Kudrin was credited with preserving Russia's oil wealth in the world's third largest gold and forex reserves which totalled nearly $600 billion in early August.