At least 17 incidents were recorded on the first day of voting in different regions of Russia: eight arson attempts at polling stations and nine cases of dousing polling stations with greenery
Several incidents occurred during the first day of voting in Russia. In Maryina, an elderly woman set fire to a voting booth and then started filming the events on her phone. In St. Petersburg, a 21-year-old girl threw a Molotov cocktail at a school where polling stations were open. Another arson attempt took place in Kogalym, where a woman tried to set fire to a ballot box, and in Mytishchi, an 83-year-old woman set fire to a voting booth.
In addition, there were cases of mass dousing of ballot boxes with greenery. This happened in Moscow, as well as in Simferopol, Rostov, Karachay-Cherkessia, Borisoglebsk, Volzhsky, Lytkarino, and Sochi.
All those who tried to set fire to polling stations or spoil ballot papers with greenery were detained at the scene. It is already known that the Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case under Article 141 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (obstructing the exercise of electoral rights) after the burning of a voting booth in Moscow. The detainees face up to four years’ imprisonment under this article.
Some participants in the arsons stated that they had fallen victim to telephone scammers. For example, an 80-year-old pensioner from Chelyabinsk who set off the fireworks said during questioning that she received a call from strangers who asked her to help identify “foreign intelligence agents.
