MOSCOW: Moscow’s Western opponents actively tried over the past year to disrupt the Russian presidential election, Russia’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told.
“Our opponents stirred up not just a week or a month ago. It seems to me that over the past year they did everything to either disrupt the presidential election or prevent it from being held or distort the conception of the elections in different ways,” the diplomat said.
The West has organized misinformation campaigns and influence in the cyber sphere: from spreading the corresponding content to blocking the apps of Russian organizations on digital platforms, which is also “a very serious element of influence,” she pointed out.
The West also used paid opposition that turned out to be “agents of influence and simply hirelings,” the diplomat explained.
“But nothing helps it [the West],” she stressed.
The unity of Russian citizens amidst the country’s presidential election causes the West’s fury, Zakharova said.
“The country has consolidated and is a single whole. Moreover, this is unity in the face of the threat that is evident and unity, what is especially important, for solving the tasks that we face,” the diplomat said.
“This causes savage fury, hatred and aggression and they are already foaming, you know, coming out with some green pus. Let them choke on it,” she said.
The Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament, officially designated March 17, 2024 as the day of the presidential election. The Central Election Commission (CEC) then announced that voting would take place over three days on March 15-17.
Four candidates are vying for the top office, namely New People party nominee Vladislav Davankov; self-nominated candidate and incumbent President Vladimir Putin; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) nominee Leonid Slutsky; and Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) nominee Nikolay Kharitonov.
