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Russia Says Elections Chief Attacked by Intruder at Her Home

Russia Says Elections Chief Attacked by Intruder at Her Home

(Bloomberg) -- Russia’s central elections commission chief, Ella Pamfilova, was attacked in her home by a masked intruder in the early hours of Friday, according to the country’s Interior Ministry.

Pamfilova attended a conference in Moscow later and told reporters she was fine, while refusing to comment on the incident, the Izvestia news website reported.

The intruder “broke into the house through a window, repeatedly struck the homeowner with a stun gun, and then disappeared,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that it’s treating the case as an attempted robbery. The stun gun malfunctioned and did not deliver any electric shocks, the Interfax news service reported, citing a law-enforcement official it didn’t identify.

The incident took place as Russia prepares to hold regional elections on Sunday, including for Moscow city council. The commission’s refusal to register opposition candidates for the Moscow elections sparked the largest anti-Kremlin protests since 2011-2012 demonstrations against Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ilya Arkhipov in Moscow at iarkhipov@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Tony Halpin, Jake Rudnitsky

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