MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. Russians who left the country after the start of the special military operation are getting ready to carry out various provocations on the eve of the Russian presidential election abroad, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Gennady Askaldovich said.

"A serious problem for us is the activity of so-called expats. Particularly those who have a negative view of incumbent President [Vladimir Putin]. Not all the expats are completely against us. Many of them are apolitical and have already returned home but those who stayed have an extremely Russophobic stance and, as far as we know, are preparing to carry out all sorts of provocations before and during the election," he said at a meeting at Russia’s Central Election Committee (CEC) devoted to preparations for Russia’s 2024 presidential election.

The diplomat also noted that those Russians who moved abroad only grew more jaded after "the registration of presidential candidate [Boris] Nadezhdin was rejected." "We are carrying out a major information campaign among patriotically-minded citizens and ask for their assistance, to the extent possible, to prevent extremist acts by these expats," he added.

The Russian presidential election is slated for March 17. The vote will take place over three days, on March 15-17, 2024, making it the first-ever three-day presidential election in Russian history.