Law enforcement officers have been visiting pharmacies in the city and briefing pharmacists ahead of the vote, which runs from September 18 to 20. One employee said they were told that selling iodine, zelyonka (a green antiseptic dye) and other coloring agents was not necessary during those days.
Other pharmacists were advised, according to the outlet 72.ru, not to dispense such products in quantities of five units or more. The pharmacies have received no written orders and there is no strict ban — the measures are oral recommendations.
Sources cited by the outlet said the measures are preventive and stem from the experience of past elections: police expect to head off possible provocations. The same sources said authorities plan to track individuals intending to buy large quantities of coloring antiseptics.
The Tyumen Region branch of the Interior Ministry did not respond promptly to a request from journalists.
During the 2024 presidential election, voters in various Russian regions poured zelyonka, iodine and ink into ballot boxes. According to reports, voters spoiled ballots mainly under the influence of phone scammers. A Moscow woman who poured zelyonka into a ballot box was sentenced to a year in a penal colony; according to the chair of the precinct commission, the ballots were readable and counted after the dye dried.
Elections to the State Duma, and in many regions also to local self-government bodies, will be held on September 18-20.