In December 2011, Russian Prime Minister Vladamir Putin criticized then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for interfering in Russian elections after she demanded an investigation of whether Putin’s party had rigged the parliamentary elections, thereby denying the voices of the voters.
“Russian voters deserve a full investigation of electoral fraud and manipulation,” Clinton declared in early December of that year. “Regardless of where you live, citizenship requires holding your government accountable,” she said later.
Clinton also argued that rigged elections prevent the people from having their voices heard.
“The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve the right to have their voices heard and their votes counted,” Clinton said while in Germany. (Independent election monitors, it’s worth noting, reported widespread ballot stuffing by pro-Putin actors.)
Putin, in turn, blamed Clinton for the subsequent protests in Russia.
“The first thing that the secretary of state did was say that they were not honest and not fair, but she had not even yet received the material from the observers,” Putin said.
As reported by the BBC, Putin claimed that Clinton “set the tone for some opposition activists,” adding that she “gave them a signal, they heard this signal and started active work.”
He went on to claim that foreign interests had attempted to sway the outcome of the election.
“It is unacceptable when foreign money is pumped into election processes,” he said.
Now, it seems, the tables have turned: Clinton’s party is facing protests amid accusations of rigged elections, while Russia has been accused of interfering in American elections. (RELATED: Leaked Emails Show DNC Officials Constructing Anti-Bernie Narrative)
Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook accused Russia of orchestrating the WikiLeaks email dump that show Democratic party officials conspiring against Sen. Bernie Sanders. (RELATED: Debbie Wasserman Schultz To Step Down As DNC Chair)
“What’s disturbing to us is that experts are telling us Russian state actors broke into the DNC, stole these emails, and other experts are now saying that the Russians are releasing these emails for the purpose of actually of helping Donald Trump,” Mook said on Sunday.