DISINFO: The West has an extensive network of agents to meddle in the Russian election
SUMMARY
Russia is often ironic about the influence of foreign agents on the elections. But in fact, everything is very serious. The famous pranksters Vovan and Lexus pranked some officials in the West and it was proven that the network is far and deeply entrenched, it has been built for several decades. Therefore, those people whom we call foreign agents, or who perform the function of foreign media agents, they are just the tip of the iceberg, because the very sleeping agents who are here, unfortunately, are hidden until a certain time.
RESPONSE
This disinformation claim is part of a narrative promoted by pro-Kremlin outlets in the context the 2021 Russian legislative (Duma) elections.
No evidence is provided to support the claim.
There are legitimate concerns about the freedom of the 2021 parliamentary elections in Russia. For example, for the first time since 1993, the OSCE did not send election observers to Russia, as the Russian authorities put last-minute limits on the number of observers allowed. These limits were so low that it would not allow the OSCE to work in an effective and thorough manner (OSCE had planned to have 500 observers but Russia only authorised 60).
In a declaration following the Duma elections, the EU reiterated "its deep concerns over the continuous pattern of shrinking space for the opposition, civil society and independent voices across Russia" and called "on Russia’s leadership to reverse these negative developments".
According to Amnesty International, ahead of the elections, the Russian authorities both stepped up repression against their critics and used ever more direct ways of eliminating their political opponents. In previous elections, the main tools for eliminating unwanted candidates were refusals to register them or their disqualification for minor or imaginary infringements of the electoral process. This time, the authorities are applying a much more heavy-handed and sinister approach.
More and more media outlets in Russia are being arbitrarily declared 'foreign agents', essentially restricting freedom of the press and freedom of expression. Attempts to censor the content on the Internet are also increasing with ever more court cases against platform operators; examples here, here and here.
Read similar cases in our database that claims that the West wants to influence elections in Russia and supports anti-State powers; or that the West trying to interfere in Russia’s legislative elections; or that for the West, Russian elections will always be "bad"; or that foreign election monitors did not notice a big difference between the elections in the EU and in Russia. See also, UK and US intervened in the Duma elections.