US attempting to meddle in Russian election

On Jan 29, the United States Department of the Treasury released a list of the names of a number of Russian oligarchs, senior Kremlin and government officials and chief executive officers of state companies who Washington perceives to have close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to a report by Bloomberg, the US Treasury Department, State Department and the Director of National Intelligence were responsible for drawing up the list of the names of “the most senior foreign political figures and oligarchs in the Russian Federation, as determined by their closeness to the Russian regime and their net worth”.

The unclassified annex of the document that has been released has two sections, with Appendix A listing the names of the 114 senior Russian political figures and Appendix B listing the names of 96 oligarchs, those individuals who had an estimated worth of more than $1 billion.

The report was mandated by the US Congress under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which was signed by US President Donald Trump in August 2017 with the aim of increasing the pressure on Russia. It is said this was because US intelligence agencies stated that Putin ordered a hacking and propaganda campaign aimed at influencing the US presidential elections in 2016, an allegation that Kremlin representatives have repeatedly denied.

... the US’ attempt to again intervene in Russia’s election ... will only consolidate rather than weaken Russian people’s unity in support of Putin.