Free Republic

MOSCOW -- The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan, to complain about alleged interference by American “digital giants” in Russia’s upcoming parliamentary election. A ministry statement said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov claimed Russia "possesses irrefutable evidence of the violation of Russian legislation by American ‘digital giants’.... ....The statement did not give details of the complaint, but Russian authorities have pressured Google and Apple to remove apps of the Smart Voting initiative designed by the team of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The program aims to advise voters which candidates are in the best position to...

Seven parties have been allowed to field candidates for parliament this year - down from 11 in 2007. Voting for representation in the country's 450-seat chamber takes place across Russia's nine time zones with polls closing at 1700GMT on Sunday. As people in European Russia were going to bed, polls were opening in the far east. In Vladivostok, sailors from Russia's Pacific fleet were among those queuing to vote. Warrant Officer Nikolai Ponomaryov said he was voting for United Russia, because the party was supporting the armed forces. The outgoing parliament, or State Duma, is dominated by Mr Putin's party,...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted the resignation of PM Mikhail Fradkov and nominated a financial crime investigator to replace him. Victor Zubkov, head of the federal financial monitoring service, is a relative unknown in Russian politics. Mr Fradkov offered to resign, citing "approaching significant political events", said Tass news agency. The lower house of the Russian parliament, the Duma, is set to vote on Mr Zubkov's nomination on Friday.