11.   The process was tarnished by allegations of intimidation, pressure and threats of reprisals.

12.   The top brass is tarnished by allegations that corrupt officers are enriching themselves while recruits scrape by on near-starvation rations.

13.   Meanwhile signs emerged Wednesday that the allegations could tarnish other sectors of the Russian state.

14.   That vote was tarnished by allegations of widespread ballot rigging and plagued by shoddy counting procedures that cast doubt on the final result.