Support The Moscow Times!

Russian Journalist Arrested for Election Fraud (After Filming Election Fraud)

Dmitri Lovetsky / AP

The Russian journalist who filmed himself taking part in vote-rigging to prove that the country's State Duma elections were unfair has been charged with electoral fraud.

Denis Korotkov, a correspondent for St. Petersburg-based site Fontanka.ru, was arrested on charges of “illegally obtaining a ballot.”

He took part in a vote rigging technique known as “carousel voting,” allowing him to cast two separate votes in two separate polling stations. Those who took part were paid for their work, and were made to take photographs of their ballots to ensure they had voted for members of the ruling United Russia party, Fontanka reported. Korotkov received the extra ballots after showing election officials at certain polling stations a sticker which had been placed in his passport, the outlet wrote.

No other arrests have been made in relation to the vote-rigging scheme, Fontanka reported.

Elections for Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, saw a long-expected landslide victory for United Russia on Sunday, Sept 18.

The head of Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC), Ella Pamfilova, said that the vote had been “open and transparent,” but admitted that it had not gone far enough to regain the trust of the Russian people.

Independent election monitors have declared that the State Duma vote was “far from free and fair.”

More than 30 criminal cases have been opened into suspected electoral violations, while votes from nine separate polling stations have been annulled following reports of rigged voting.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more