All the companies that develop the Smart Voting application and website are associated with the Pentagon, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday, September 11.
On September 6, Roskomnadzor blocked the Smart Voting website for its connection with the extremist organization FBK, which is banned in Russia and recognized as a foreign agent.
"A lot of materials have already been published through Roskomnadzor and our law enforcement agencies... Roskomnadzor has established IP addresses. It was found that the servers and technical support of the "Smart Voting" application, on which our law enforcement agencies have already expressed their position, these IP addresses mainly come from the United States. This is the largest territorial group where attempts to circumvent the blockages come from — the United States," she said on Radio Russia.
In this regard, US Ambassador John Sullivan was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the diplomat noted.
On September 8, Roskomnadzor (RCN) and the Monitoring Center for the Management of Public Communication Networks of the Russian Federation (CMU SSOP of the Russian Federation), based on the requirements of the Central Election Commission and the Prosecutor General's Office, sent letters demanding that they stop providing opportunities to circumvent the restriction of access to the Smart Voting application and website on the territory of Russia.
Roskomnadzor and the CMU of the SSOP of the Russian Federation found that more than 10 foreign providers located on the territory of the United States, Ukraine, Germany, France, Japan, the United Kingdom and other states provide means of circumventing locks.
The ministry said that the failure of companies to comply with the requirements to stop assistance to the Smart Voting website and application is a gross violation of the current legislation of the Russian Federation and will be considered as foreign interference in the campaign for the election of deputies of the State Duma.
