Volodin
A group of former United Russia political operatives in the Saratov region have claimed responsibility for smear campaigns targeting political enemies of State Duma Deputy Vyacheslav Volodin, a senior party leader.
The editors and writers of the web site Conspirology.org told a news conference Thursday that they had been hired by Duma Deputy Nikolai Pankov of United Russia to organize surreptitious media campaigns and stunts to discredit various regional and federal officials at odds with Volodin.
On Pankov's orders, the men behind the web site disseminated hatchet pieces about selected targets in the regional media, Igor Osovin, a writer for the site, said by telephone Friday.
Targets included Saratov Governor Pavel Ipatov and several regional and federal lawmakers, Osovin said.
A fellow collaborator on the site, Alexei Smirnov, said he and his colleagues had a crisis of conscience about their work that prompted them to go public.
Both federal and regional elections are commonly polluted with dirty campaign tactics, some of which can be quite elaborate and esoteric. One common stunt is to hire groups of scruffy homeless people to stage a rally supporting an opposing candidate, thus reflecting poorly on the candidate's base.
Curiously, Pankov said the accusations that he ordered the smear campaigns against Volodin's critics are in fact part of a campaign to discredit him, the Regnum news agency reported Friday.
Both Osovin and Smirnov said Friday that they were prepared to prove the veracity of their claims in court.
Pankov did not respond to a request for comment left with his aide at the Duma on Friday. Repeated calls to Volodin's spokeswoman went unanswered Friday afternoon.