“In Russia, pro-Russian separatists from Donbass were allowed to participate in the elections,” reports the independent Meduza portal. Some of these people were reportedly issued Russian passports just before entering the polling station.
Since Friday, Russians have been electing deputies to the State Duma, regional councils and heads of local administrations. Russia is divided into 11 time zones. In each of them, voting will end at 21.00 local time.
Observers of the public movement “Golos” reported about election fraud on the very first day of voting. They pointed, among other things, to attempts to add fake cards to polls, as well as to allow people who had already voted to vote.
Passports of a citizen of the Russian Federation
According to the Meduza portal, the pro-Russian separatists of Donbass, who have received passports of a citizen of the Russian Federation, are delivered to polling stations in the Rostov region. Deszcz TV reported that 825 buses and 12 trains are involved.
The OVD-info portal, which tracks the activities of the Russian police, recorded cases of obstruction of the work of independent observers, including the detention of about 20 people.