The Kremlin is accusing the U.S of ‘direct interference’ in its presidential election in a twist to election meddling charges.
In response to State Department criticism of Russia for its refusal to put opposition leader Alexey Navalny on the ballot in the contest against Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the U.S. government of engaging in the type of disruptive behavior it has accused Russia of.
A State Department representative had assaulted the Kremlin for its ‘ongoing crackdown against independent voices, from journalists to civil society activists and opposition politicians.’
The U.S. government urged Russia to hold free and fair democratic elections and to respect human rights.
In a Tuesday Facebook post, Zakharova said, according to Business Insider, ‘This State Department statement, which I’m sure will be repeated, is a direct interference in our electoral process and internal affairs.’
The Russian-language post sought to undercut the intelligence community’s assessment that Putin’s government directed the hacking of U.S. election systems and attempted to shape the outcome of the 2016 presidential race.
‘And these people expressed outrage over alleged Russian “interference” in their electoral process for an entire year?!’ she said.
Zakharova said: ‘The funniest thing is that these are the same people who just tagged RT and Sputnik as foreign agents, who are harassing Russian media around the world and who are investing huge amounts of money into ‘countering Russian propaganda,’ which is how they label anyone who they disagree with.’.
Russia’s election commission ruled Monday that Navalny, who was previously convicted of embezzlement, was not eligible to run against Putin due to a suspended prison sentence.
A furious Navalny, who says the sentence was part of a fabricated case designed to thwart his political ambitions, responded by calling for an election boycott. That prompted the Kremlin to demand an investigation to determine whether his statement broke the law.
On Wednesday, Navalny upped the ante, saying he and his supporters would organize nationwide rallies on January 28 in 85 towns and cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg.
‘We refuse to call the reappointment of Putin an election,’ Navalny said in a statement on his website. ‘We are not going to vote and will convince everyone around us not to vote. We are going to campaign (for a boycott) with all our might.’
The Kremlin desires a high turnout in the March 18 election to help confer legitimacy on Putin’s shoo-in victory and quell signs of apathy among voters.
The commission ruled on Monday that Navalny(seen at a rally on December 24) was not eligible to run against Putin due to a suspended prison sentence
Polls show that Putin, who has led Russia for 18 years as either president or prime minister, is on course to comfortably win another six-year term. He is pictured today at a New Year reception
Under Russian law, the time and place of rallies must be agreed with the authorities who have often declined to authorise them in the past, citing conflicting events or security concerns.
When the opposition has gone ahead anyway, the police have broken up rallies by force and detained attendees.
Polls show that Putin, who has led Russia for 18 years as either president or prime minister, is on course to comfortably win another six-year term, allowing him to rule until 2024, when he’ll turn 72.
The former KGB officer is running as an independent, a move seen as a way of strengthening his image as a ‘father of the nation’ rather than as a party political figure
The former KGB officer is running as an independent, a move seen as a way of strengthening his image as a ‘father of the nation’ rather than as a party political figure.
The ruling United Russia party, which he once led and which controls three quarters of seats in the lower house of parliament, has said it will support him, as will Just Russia, a pro-government centre-left group.
Allies laud Putin for restoring national pride and expanding Moscow’s global clout with interventions in Syria and Ukraine.
But Navalny says Putin has been in power too long and that his support is artificially maintained by a biased state media and an unfair system which excludes genuine opponents.
Navalny has made a name for himself by successfully leveraging social media and conducting high profile corruption investigations into senior officials.
He has also organised some of the biggest anti-government protests in years.
Opinion polls, whose accuracy Navalny dismisses, put his support in single digits while giving Putin an approval rating of around 80 percent.
Allies laud Putin for restoring national pride and expanding Moscow’s global clout with interventions in Syria and Ukraine