The Senator chaired a meeting of the Federation Council Commission on Defending State Sovereignty and Preventing Interference in the Domestic Affairs of the Russian Federation.
The meeting’s agenda focused on foreign interference during the national voting day.
Taking the floor as the Commission’s chair, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, Vladimir Dzhabarov, said that Western countries have launched a large-scale campaign in an attempt to interfere in the upcoming State Duma election. “Over the past two years, Russia’s adversaries have been proactive in developing and honing new methods, as well as testing them in several countries where elections took place.”
“Just as before, the West seeks to rely on foreign agents, extremists and other traitors in its destructive planning, while offering direct financial, administrative, informational and ideological support for preparing all kinds of electoral provocations,” the Senator went on to say, adding that extremists have been adopting increasingly sophisticated models of interference for staging these destructive informational attacks, including by using AI.
“Hardly a week goes by without the Commission learning about contacts between traitors and their Western curators. The purpose of these contacts consists of coordinating action. The Commission operates as a permanent monitoring mechanism and analyses the Western tools of interference. We can see through all the approaches to foreign interference and understand how they work. Make no mistake, we will not allow them to succeed in their attempts and will deflect these attacks,” Vladimir Dzhabarov pointed out.
Member of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, Head of the Working Group for Monitoring Attempts at Foreign Interference During Election Campaigns, Alexey Kondratev, said that attempts to interfere in the voting process are becoming increasingly aggressive. He noted that the mission of his working group consisted of countering these efforts from a parliamentary perspective. According to the Senator, pro-Western NGOs have switched into high gear in their campaign to discredit Russian observers, especially those who have already worked in the reunited regions. Western foundations are trying to discredit Russia’s initiatives to reinforce its electoral sovereignty by working with the countries of the Global Majority, and have gone as far as seeking to undermine the International Association of Independent Electoral Experts, which was created recently.
In his remarks, Alexey Kondratev paid special attention to the biased nature of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and also mentioned the Russia-hating hysteria on the topic of offering Russians abroad early off-site voting opportunities. He talked about planted publications by extremist groups abroad and attempts to undermine elections in the new regions of the Russian Federation by trying to intimidate voters by threatening them with Ukrainian neo-Nazi strikes.
“We have been keeping a close eye on the key approaches to attacking our electoral system. The working group continues to monitor the situation. We will make sure to keep the Commission updated on any new facts relating ot interference in the election campaign,” Alexey Kondratev said to conclude his remarks.
Member of the Central Election Commission, Igor Borisov, was the keynote speaker at the meeting. He presented a detailed review of the ongoing election campaign in Russia in all its aspects, as well as measures to ensure that it proceeds safely. The speaker placed a special emphasis on the external pressure coming from the West by stressing that Russia faces a hybrid war, which includes informational attacks such as misinformation and bots, as well as digital aggression in the form of DDoS attacks and military provocations all staged by Ukraine. These attacks have been gaining momentum as the election day draws nearer. Igor Borisov outlined a comprehensive set of measures for ensuring the country’s electoral sovereignty.
Participants in the expert discussion included Head of the Research Council at the Centre for Political Research of Trends and Situations, Alexei Chesnakov, Director General at the Centre for Political Information, Alexey Mukhin, and Director at MGIMO University’s Centre for Military and Political Research Alexey Podberyozkin.
The Federation Council Commission on Defending State Sovereignty and Preventing Interference in the Domestic Affairs of the Russian Federation is scheduled to hold its next meeting in October 2026.