MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. Over thirty percent of circulated materials aimed at discrediting Russia’s elections next month come from foreign users from countries on the unfriendly list, experts from the Independent Public Monitoring association (IPM) said in their report.

According to the IPM report titled "Ghosts of Lies: Media Attacks on Electoral System ahead of 2023-Elections" received by TASS, the election process in Russia has been a target of information attacks over the years as part of a smear campaign against its electoral system. Such attacks have intensified in the run-up to Russia’s Unified Election Day next month.

"What is particularly important about the Russian elections this year is the significant upsurge in authors involved in the process of creating and posting critical stories about the Russian elections while working outside the country," the IPM report reads.

"The report's authors added that as a result of monitoring on social media outlets, it was found that over 30% of such stories come from foreign users representing mostly unfriendly states," according to the IPM.

Russia’s Unified Election Day falls on September 10. The Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People’s Republic (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 are expected to take place across 85 of Russia’s 89 regions. As many as 21 regions will hold direct elections for top officials and 20 regions will vote on members of local legislative assemblies. Voters will choose the winners among candidates vying for over 34,000 political offices.