Russia asks countries to ban protests outside embassies during elections

Russia has sent diplomatic notes to the foreign ministries of all countries requesting that demonstrations outside Russian embassies be prohibited during the September State Duma elections, according to Maksim Ryder, deputy chairman of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s election commission.

Ryder told Russia's state-run RIA Novosti that Moscow expects foreign governments to fulfil their obligations in good faith, adding that Russia “will certainly not sit idly by”.

He said Russia “does not rule out provocations by Ukrainian activists and Russian citizens with hostile intentions” during the elections.

Ryder identified the Baltic states, Poland, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic as countries of particular concern. He also said authorities in those countries would be unable to organise voting outside diplomatic premises and would therefore be “forced to limit themselves to running polling stations within the premises of diplomatic missions”.

The State Duma elections are scheduled to take place from September 18 to 20, with 450 deputies to be elected. Half of the seats will be allocated through party lists, while the remaining 225 seats will be contested in single-member constituencies.

By Sabina Mammadli