DISINFO: US failed to discredit Russian electoral system
SUMMARY
The United States failed to discredit the Russian electoral system despite a series of cyberattacks from American soil.
RESPONSE
Disinformation about alleged Western and more specifically US efforts to interfere in the domestic affairs of Russia, in this case for the 17-19 September Duma elections.
This narrative is aimed at discrediting reports and statements according to which Russia meddles in the election processes of European countries and the US.
Russian authorities have shown no substantial evidence to prove that US entities, authorities or the US government have committed actions that would constitute election interference.
Pro-Kremlin outlets have claimed that behind such interference is Viktor Rubanov, a former director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, who developed iPhone software for Smart Voting. It is a technology used by the team of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny with the aim of advancing opposition candidates in regional and federal elections. The goal of Smart Voting is to consolidate the votes of those who oppose United Russia. Russian media say that Rubanov lives in San Francisco and works for Momentus Space Inc., a company related to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with several top officials allegedly having links to the Pentagon.
The fact that Rubanov works for a company that has occasionally been a contractor for NASA does not prove the allegations put forward by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the US is interfering in the voting process.
See also related disinformation claims, alleging that The West wants to influence elections in Russia and supports anti-State powers; The West is trying to interfere in Russia’s legislative elections; For the West, Russian elections will always be "bad".
As a general reaction to the 2021 Duma elections see here the EU reaction.