Fact check: Why is Russia claiming Western 'interference' in Duma elections?

As the Russian legislative elections draw near, Moscow is blaming Western interference, a claim mirrored by Western governments directed at the Kremlin. Russia's upcoming elections for the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, slated between September 18 and 20, are viewed by democracy watchers as merely a formality for the regime's authority.

Recently, Russian officials and media have intensified accusations that Europe intends to manipulate the process. Russia's foreign intelligence suggested on August 31 that the EU plans to provoke polling stations in Russia and abroad, along with Ukraine, to launch cyberattacks against Russia's election infrastructure. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, reported on September 8, claimed Europe is training secret monitors to oversee the Duma vote.

Vasily Piskaryov, head of the State Duma commission investigating foreign interference, alleged extremist groups plan to conduct fake exit polls at Russian embassies. Piskaryov also accused European NGOs, labeled as undesirable organizations, of recruiting Russian-speaking citizens to act as fake electoral experts and spread disinformation during the campaign.

Russian officials have not provided evidence for their claims, which have been widely reported by Russian state and pro-state media, while the EU has dismissed these allegations. This is not the first time Russian authorities have accused Western states of interfering in Russian elections without substantiating evidence. Disinformation researcher Julia Smirnova from the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS), based in Germany, outlines three main goals behind Russia's narrative: discrediting criticism from exiled Russian opposition, portraying Russia as besieged by foreign powers, and diverting attention from its own interference abroad.

Despite Russian assertions, democracy watchdogs label the elections as neither free nor fair, citing vote-buying, coercion, and crackdown on the opposition. While the ruling United Russia party is virtually certain to win, certain Kremlin-aligned parties are allowed to run, creating a semblance of democratic competition. Non-systemic opposition politicians face imprisonment, branding as extremists, expulsion into exile, or death.

Additionally, independent monitoring infrastructure has been systematically dismantled. Russia plans to hold parliamentary elections in occupied Ukrainian territories, which it claims as new regions, expecting widespread criticism of the election's legitimacy. The Kremlin preemptively dismisses such criticisms as foreign meddling.

The recent accusations aim to discredit any criticism of the Russian regime by exile media or politicians as foreign interference, reinforce Russia's image as under attack by foreign powers, and distract from its own interference abroad. This tactic of "whataboutism" further undermines the notion of election interference.