MOSCOW. Jan 20 (Interfax) - External forces may try to interfere in the State Duma election campaign this year, and such attempts must be countered, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said.
"Unfortunately, we cannot rule out attempts by external forces to interfere in the electoral process; this is a real challenge of the present day that we must deter, and any provocations must be nipped in the bud," Matviyenko said at the first plenary meeting of the Federation Council's spring session.
Elections to the State Duma, as well as regional and municipal elections, will be the central political events of the year in Russia, she said.
Matviyenko expressed confidence that the Federation Council's commission on the protection of state sovereignty will conduct regular analysis of the situation surrounding the elections and will "brief the chamber on every fact aimed at destabilizing the political situation."