Candidate from Iraq

In Moscow, they began to disseminate agitation in support of candidates for the State Duma through foreign accounts in WhatsApp

Messenger of WhatsApp began to come to residents of Moscow with an unknown foreign numbers with an appeal to vote for candidates for the State Duma Galina Khovanskaya (the Fair Russia Party, 198, Leningrad single -member district in Moscow), as well as Evgenia Popova (United Russia party, 197, Kuntsevsky district in Moscow).

Messages call to vote for the candidate for the State Duma and the current head of the State Duma Committee on Housing and Public Utilities Galin Khovanskaya came to WhatsApp to two Novaya Gazeta journalists: the head of the information service Nikita Kondratiev and the correspondent of the policy of Politics Daria Kozlova. In addition, the message was received by a journalist and student of the Higher School of Economics Polina Kolesnichenko.

The letters were also reported by dozens of subscribers of the Facebook Airport/Sokol da Neighborhood group (the group unites residents of the Moscow Sokol and Airport areas, which are part of the 198th constituency).

Messages were sent from unknown numbers with foreign telephone codes: Peru, Iraq and Cameroon.

They are signed by the team of Galina Khovanskaya.

In the newsletter, Khovanskaya is called "a professional in the field of housing and communal services." In addition, it is said that “she managed to ban hostels in residential premises” and “stop the actions of collectors to“ knock out ”debts.” Separately, the message noted that Khovanskaya voted against the law on raising the retirement age.

“Thanks to Khovanskaya, participants in the renovation program do not pay for major repairs, and residents of communal services move to separate apartments. The heroes of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation, the heroes of labor are exempted from the fee for housing complex in full. Khovanskaya voted against raising the retirement age, increasing VAT - 20%, "extremist law." We need a worthy representative in the State Duma. We are counting on your support, ”the newsletter said.

As the Novaya Gazeta told some recipients of the newsletter, they did not leave their phone to the agitators of Galina Khovanskaya, while the candidate really moves around the district where they should vote. Moreover, one of the editors of Novaya Gazeta, who received a newsletter, did not even physically appear in 198 districts for a long time,

And he gave the phone number only when registering for electronic voting through the website mos.ru.

As Polina Kolesnichenko added, she also did not leave the candidate’s agitators her number. Previously, a similar newsletter came in support of the candidate for the State Duma and TV presenter Evgeny Popov.

Among the first to talk about the newsletter with agitation, was the municipal deputy of the Ramenka district Maxim Gongalsky. Last Sunday, Gongalsky in WhatsApp from an unknown number C received a message calling to vote for Popov (the letter was signed by the name and surname of the candidate).

The message, as well as in the mailing from Khovanskaya, lists Evgeny Popov’s “Merit”: “Solving problems of improvement”, “Acceleration of the resettlement of emergency houses”, “Protection of the Krylata Forest”. At the end of the letter, supposedly representatives of the candidate urge him to vote for him in the elections to the State Duma in the areas of September 17-19 or using electronic voting.

According to the Gongalsky Novaya Gazeta, a candidate from whom he allegedly came a message coincides with the district, in which he should vote in the elections to the State Duma. At the same time, Gongalsky did not leave his number to the team of Yevgeny Popov. The deputy suggests that his number was taken from the "stolen database".

“I suppose that my number was taken from the website of the“ public services ”or from some other stolen base. The fact is that this should be some kind of cunning base-with information at the address of registration, just numbers are not enough, ”says Gongalsky.

In addition, the deputy notes that the newsletter came to him from the WhatsApp business account. “Most likely, the newsletter was paid directly to Votsapa (and is unlikely to be through the election account), that is, Facebook. This means that the [members of the Popov team] directly paid the American company to carry out agitation in the Russian elections.

Therefore, there is direct foreign intervention in our elections, ”continues Gongal.

New Gazeta contacted Galina Khovanskaya. In a conversation with the newspaper, the candidate called the newsletter a “provocation”.

Galina Khovanskaya

Member of the Presidium of the Central Council of the Party "Fair Russia - Patriots - for Truth"

“They are trying to reduce the level of support by all means. I don’t even have such a resource. There is Facebook and Instagram "

Evgeny Popov asked the journalist "New" "not to make an elephant out of a fly."

Evgeny Popov

TV presenter, candidate for deputies from United Russia

"This is an ordinary advertising service provided by many companies in Moscow"

When asked by the journalist, whether the newsletter was organized by his headquarters, the candidate did not answer.

Elections to the State Duma will be held in Russia on a single voting day on September 19. In addition to Galina Khovanskaya in 198, a human rights activist and a former member of the PMC “Yabloko” Marina Litvinovich, as well as a self -nominee municipal deputy of the Moscow district Schukino, Anastasia Bryukhanova, supported by the director of “city projects” Maxim Katsu, are nominated by a single -member of the Party of Yabloko.

Evgeny Popov from United Russia competes in 197 to the constituency with the candidate from Yabloko Kirill Goncharov and the Mikhail Lobanov, who was advanced from the Communist Party.