Thousands Call for Russia PM Dismissal

MOSCOW (AP) -- A petition calling on Russia's president to sack Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, whose comments about teachers' pay sparked outrage earlier this week, has attracted more than a hundred thousand signatures.

When asked by a teacher from the impoverished Dagestan region why teachers are paid half as much as police officers, Medvedev retorted that teaching is not a job for those seeking to make a fortune and that a young, energetic man can always make money on the side.

According to change.org, where the online petition appears, the demand that President Vladimir Putin sack Medvedev had attracted more than 160,000 signatures by Friday. The petition said someone who tells "teachers to make money on the side" should not lead the cabinet.

Medvedev was Russia's president between 2008 and 2012.

(KA)