MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/. The State Duma Commission for Investigating Foreign Interference in Russia's Internal Affairs has received information that provocations are being planned at polling stations in Russia's new regions during the upcoming elections, Commission Chairman Vasily Piskaryov reported.
"According to available information, provocations at polling stations are being prepared in order to spin events for the benefit of foreign media. For this purpose, for example, training sessions for pseudo-observer-provocateurs have been held abroad by an organization that has been designated as extremist in Russia," the lawmaker said in a statement on the commission’s Telegram channel.
He pointed out that materials on the organizers of and participants in such training "will be handed over today by the [State Duma] Commission to the Central Election Commission (CEC) and the Russian Prosecutor General's Office."
A decision was also made for the Commission's monitoring group to commence its work. "We have agreed with the CEC on conducting regular exchanges of information. All attempts to interfere in the 2023 election campaign will be studied in detail. Our citizens should have no doubt that, in spite all the efforts and provocations being made by outside forces, we will not allow any disruptions of the elections," the statement said.
Russia’s Unified Election Day falls on September 10. The Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People’s Republics (LPR), as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, will take part in the nationwide voting for the first time since joining the Russian Federation. More than 4,000 election campaigns for various public offices are expected to take place in 85 of Russia’s 89 regions. As many as 21 regions will hold direct elections of top officials and 20 regions will vote on members of local legislative assemblies. The future holders of over 34,000 political offices will be determined.