The 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities accused of meddling in the US presidential election had launched an "information war", said US Undersecretary of Justice Rod Rosenstein.
Rosenstein noted that the indictment does not allege that the involvement affected the outcome of the election. There is also no allegation that American citizens knowingly became involved in this involvement.
The referral shows that the Russians wanted to sow discord in the US, he added.
The Undersecretary noted that so far he has no contact with Moscow and that the usual procedure for the extradition of the suspects will be followed.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov told Reuters he had not yet been informed of the referral of Russian citizens accused of meddling in the US election.
The office of Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, which is investigating Russia's involvement in the presidential election, said the Russians' campaign began in 2014. In the 2016 election, their goal was to support Donald Trump and defame Hillary Clinton. . The 37-page indictment describes a "conspiracy" to disrupt the election by people who used fake identities to spread divisive messages, traveled to various states to gather information, and organized political rallies pretending to be Americans.
This document largely reflects the conclusions reached in January 2017 by the US intelligence community, which claimed that Russia was involved in the election and that one of its goals was to help Trump.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Saunders said the president had been briefed on developments.
Trump had denounced Mueller's inquiry into whether campaign officials collaborated with the Kremlin, calling it a "witch hunt."