"A Spectacle Under Occupation": Russia to Spend Over 300 Million Rubles on the September 20 Elections - Intelligence

The Russian authorities are once again preparing to stage an electoral spectacle in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine on September 20 - on the "single voting day," when elections to the State Duma will also be held. This time, it will cost them hundreds of millions of rubles, reports the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, according to UNN.

Details

The scenario remains unchanged. Guaranteed winners from "United Russia" are included on the electoral lists, including, for example, former ombudswoman Moskalkova, while young appointees from the "new regions" are nominated alongside them to create the illusion of a social elevator for the local population. In reality, this is merely scenery intended to disguise the absence of any genuine representation

However, behind this façade lie two pragmatic goals of the occupation administration.

The first is to strengthen control over the sentiments of residents in the five temporarily occupied regions. Under the pretext of an election campaign, door-to-door visits have begun, aimed at identifying and neutralizing pockets of discontent in advance, including through financial incentives for a loyal electorate. The second goal is much more prosaic: elections have become a convenient pretext for appropriating budget funds by both Russians and local collaborators. In the temporarily occupied part of Donetsk region alone, more than 300 million rubles were allocated from the budget of the "DPR" to hold the elections, against the backdrop of an acute socioeconomic crisis in these territories

We remind you

The occupation "authorities" in the seized territory of Donetsk region announced early voting for the Russian State Duma from August 30.