In Chechnya since September 6, representatives of the security services, according to human rights activist Maksim Rudnev, have been taking people from their homes who are classified as “unreliable”. According to him, the raids primarily target those who are registered with the Interior Ministry.
Rudnev writes that such raids take 5–10 people, and sometimes more. He claims that Chechnya has a developed network of informants who, under pressure from the authorities or on their own initiative, report minor violations. In his assessment, even a trivial matter can become a reason for a “check”.
On September 8, Chechnya head Ramzan Kadyrov, at a meeting with leaders of the security bloc, demanded intensified efforts against “extremist and other alien ideology” ahead of the elections. He said: “If you have suspicions about such people, go to their homes”. Kadyrov also stated that before the elections those “who hate us” would “do anything at all”, and called them “shaitans without any religion”.
Nothing is reported about the whereabouts of the detainees mentioned by Rudnev. Kavkaz.Realii пишет that there are reports from the regions of southern Russia and the North Caucasus about “carousel voting”, signs of falsification of turnout data, and the blocking of observers from polling stations.
The Telegram channel “Krasnodar YUMR” reported “hundreds of young men with a sporty appearance” who came to the polling stations of the Yubileyny microdistrict on September 18 with absentee certificates. According to the channel, police were called in for verification, and on Saturday similar groups again came to the polling stations.
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