Russian Parliament Election Campaign Marred by Attempts to ‘Spread Lies’ – Putin

The campaign ahead of this Sunday’s election to the lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, had been marred by attempts to manipulate the public by false stories and populist strategies, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday.

BISHKEK (Sputnik) — The elections into lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, will take place at 8 a.m. [06:00 GMT] – 8 p.m. [18:00 GMT] on Sunday.

"We’ve seen attempts during the State Duma election campaign to spread lies, to manipulate the public opinion by appealing to issues that probably matter to some people but that are not of interest to millions," Putin told reporters.