The former Danish foreign minister said he had been advised not to bring more sophisticated gadgets to Russia because of safety concerns. “Goodbye, email, goodbye, news and social media,” he added. “Still a little wild.”

Opposition leader Nick Haekkerup also posted to Facebook about the situation, noting that he had been asked to leave iPhones, iPads and anything else similar at home. “This means I will be without the Internet, email, social media for a week,” the Social Democratic Party politician wrote.

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Yet Haekkerup also saw the bright side, suggesting that the technological limitation may result in him talking to a few more people “in the real world.”

Lidegaard and Haekkerup are members of Denmark's Foreign Policy Committee and are visiting Russia until Saturday. Nikolaj Villumsen, a foreign affairs spokesman for the Red-Green Alliance, also on the trip, told the Berlingske newspaper that the order to leave smartphones at home came from the parliamentary IT department, which said, “There is a risk that we will be monitored and tapped by the Russians.”

Berlingske reported that at least one politician refused to leave her smartphone at home: Marie Krarup, an MP for the right-wing populist Danish People's Party. Krarup is known in Denmark for her sympathetic view toward Russia.

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Similar security precautions are often made by politicians when they travel to countries that are known for their aggressive use of digital surveillance. It is more unusual, however, for the politicians to so publicly declare they are not taking their phones with them.

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In February, a cybersecurity unit of the Danish Defense Ministry said in a report that ministries had faced attacks over the past two years by a state-sponsored hacking group, according to Reuters. The report did not specify whether it believed Russia was behind the attack.