Putin: US Is Interfering in Russia’s Elections

Kremlin Calls US Report a ‘Direct and Obvious Attempt to Influence the Elections’

Vladimir Putin is accusing the United States of interfering in Russia’s presidential elections. The head of the Russian Federation is upset about an impending U.S. Treasury report that will reveal links between senior Russian political figures and oligarchs to Putin, according to the BBC.

The report is a “direct and obvious attempt to influence the elections” the Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, says. 

Officials form Putin’s administration, however, say they are not worried about any external attempts to meddle in the Russian presidential election.

Nor should they be.

Putin has effectively sidelined any challengers.

Last month Russian velection officials barred opposition leader Alexey Navalny from running for president.

One month later, on Sunday, Russian police violently arrested Navalny at a political rally.

“I have been detained. But that doesn’t matter,” Navalny said via Twitter. “You are coming out not for me but for yourself and your future.”

The New York Post notes that on Sunday “thousands of Russians marched in more than 100 cities demanding a boycott of the March 18 presidential election after Navalny was disqualified in December for a fraud conviction that supporters say is political retribution.”