Medvedev to clamp down on extremism

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday he would take a tough stance against extremism and hate crimes in Russia.

"I consider it my duty to warn those hoping to aggravate the political situation. We will not allow them to foment social and ethnic hatred, to cheat people and drag them into illegal activities," Medvedev said in his first state-of-the-nation address.

His comments came a day after Moscow police detained more than 500 nationalist protesters who attempted to stage a march through the Russian capital. Some of those detained gave the Nazi salute and shouted 'Heil Hitler'.

Medvedev also warned against any attempts "to destabilise society to satisfy personal ambitions."

"The constitutional order will continue to be ensured by all legal means," Medvedev said.

(Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Giles Elgood)