Russia's ruling party 'hit by cyberattack' during presidential election

Voters across Russia are casting ballots on the second day of an election set to formalise six more years of power for Putin
Miriam Burrell16 March 2024

Russia's governing party said it faced a form of cyberattack during the presidential election, and had suspended non-essential services to repel it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is running in Russia's presidential election as an independent candidate with United Russia's support, has accused Ukraine of seeking to sabotage the polls, which he is virtually certain to win.

Governing party United Russia said on Saturday that a widespread denial of service attack had occured against its online presence.

It comes as voters across Russia are casting ballots on the second day of an election set to formalise six more years of power for Putin.

The election comes against the backdrop of a ruthless crackdown that has stifled independent media and prominent rights groups.

Putin's fiercest political foe, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison in February, and other critics are either in jail or in exile.

The 71-year-old faces three token rivals from Kremlin-friendly parties, who have refrained from any criticism of him or his invasion of Ukraine.

Officials said voting was proceeding in an orderly fashion. But despite tight controls, at least half a dozen cases of vandalism at polling stations have been reported, including a firebombing and several people pouring green liquid into ballot boxes.

A woman pours a liquid into a ballot box in Moscow
via REUTERS

The latter was an apparent homage to Mr Navalny, who in 2017 was attacked by an assailant splashing green disinfectant in his face.

Western leaders have derided the vote as a travesty of democracy.

Putin has cast his war in Ukraine, now in its third year, as an existential battle against the US and other Western powers bent on destroying Russia.

Russia's wartime economy has proven to be resilient, expanding despite bruising Western sanctions. The Russian defence industry has served as a key growth engine, working around the clock to churn out missiles, tanks and ammunition.

Russia's opposition movement has urged those unhappy with Putin or the war to show up at the polls at noon on Sunday, the final day of voting, as a form of protest.

The strategy was endorsed by Mr Navalny not long before his death.

Voting is taking place at polling stations across Russia's 11 time zones, in illegally annexed regions of Ukraine, and online.

In the run-up to the vote, Mr Putin boasted about battlefield successes in Ukraine, where the Russian troops have recently made incremental gains relying on their edge in firepower.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has fought back by stepping up attacks on Russia's border regions and launching drone strikes deep inside the country.

On Friday, Putin described the week's cross-border shelling and incursions by Ukrainian forces as an attempt by Ukraine to frighten Russians and derail the vote. He vowed that the attacks "won't be left unpunished".

European Council President Charles Michel mockingly congratulated Putin Friday on "his landslide victory" in an election that was technically still under way.

"No opposition. No freedom. No choice," he wrote on the social media platform X.

Beyond the lack of options for voters, the possibilities for independent monitoring are very limited. No significant international observers were present.

Only registered, Kremlin-approved candidates - or state-backed advisory bodies - can assign observers to polling stations, decreasing the likelihood of independent watchdogs.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in