State Duma Council reportedly plans emergency hearing to discuss foreign election interference

Although Russia’s State Duma is still on recess, the State Duma Council will reportedly hold an emergency hearing this month to discuss the possibility of foreign interference in Russian elections. Anonymous sources in the State Duma reportedly spoke with the newspaper Vedomosti about the hearing.

The exact date of the reported hearing is not yet known. It may be scheduled when State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin returns to Moscow. Russian Communist Party Chair Gennady Zyuganov recommended scheduling the hearing for August 19.

Russia’s Federation Council discussed the topic of supposed election interference by foreign parties on August 8. Federal prosecutorial manager Artur Zavalunov told Russian senators during the hearing that three foreign organizations have attempted to affect election results in the country: the Atlantic Council, an American think tank; the Free Russia Foundation, also of the U.S.; and the Canada-based Ukrainian World Congress. All three organizations are classified as “undesirable” in Russia.

The reports of an election interference hearing follow weeks of protests in Moscow during which thousands of demonstrators demanded that opposition candidates be permitted to run for the city’s legislature.