An unlikely challenger to Putin brings a rare show of defiance, creating a dilemma for the Kremlin
An unlikely challenger to Putin brings a rare show of defiance, creating a dilemma for the Kremlin
Thousands of people across Russia are signing petitions to support the longshot candidacy of Boris Nadezhdin.
Boris Nadezhdin has become a dilemma for the Kremlin as he seeks to run in the March 17 presidential election. The question now is whether Russian authorities will allow him on the ballot.
The stocky, bespectacled 60-year-old local legislator and academic has struck a chord with the public, openly calling for a halt to the conflict in Ukraine, the end of mobilizing Russian men for the military, and starting a dialogue with the West. He also has criticized the country’s repression of LGBTQ+ activism.
“The collection of signatures has gone unexpectedly well for us,” Nadezhdin told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday in Moscow. “We didn’t expect this, to be honest.”
Too bad he‘ll fall out of a window anytime soon
84Nah man, this guy will only get like 32% of the vote and Putin will get 119%.
56Having accidentally shot himself twice in the back of the head.
30Into a barrel of plutonium…
10He fell on those bullets
5Right after a “dose” of tea.
3
Well with Navalny as precedent, it seems like they'll throw him in a gulag rather than kill him
7He didn't learn from Navalny's example. Clearly there has to be a stronger message to anyone who might come after this guy.
9
Even in the Far East city of Yakutsk, 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of the Arctic Circle, Nadezhdin’s team said up to 400 people a day braved temperatures that plunged to minus 40 Celsius (minus 40 Fahrenheit) to sign petitions.
this is pretty amazing, the guy's party doesn't even have seats in Parliament, and he might run against Putin
Exiled opposition activist Maxim Katz said on YouTube that whatever the outcome, Nadezhdin’s candidacy shows “there is one thing we know right now: Conversations about civic apathy in Russia are very far from reality. What we have is not civic apathy but a civic famine — an enormous hidden potential.”
that's a great quote, i like this guy
64Guys who signed petitions will be on next draft
4there are cowards everywhere on the internet nowadays
-6
Good thing Putin allows free and fair elections and never does anything really, really bad to people who try to run against him, isn't it?
2all the snide comments about "business as usual in Russia" are old, and not funny.. this situation is clearly different for a lot of reasons.. i don't know if Putin can do as much about this as he normally could..
0
Anyone want to take bets on how long it'll take for this guy to end up falling out of a building or get into a plane crash?
37How long before he's offered some extra spicy tea?
27Eventually making a martyr out of your political opponents backfires.
It's probably why Navalny is still alive.
You kill your sycophants that pose threats, but you arrest and routinely provide proof of life of your political opponents.
16Yea, worst case he’ll probably get the cell next to Navalny
6
Or a walk by an open window?
8
I'm sure the list of voters would be valuable to the current government. Its a list of those who oppose the status quo
26Isn't voting in Russia anonymous?
1I was referring to the collection of signatures.
2
They'll put him on trial for some bogus charges and throw him in jail. Just standard procedure.
23Or just show him the view from an upper floor's window.
9
The cynic in me tells me this guy is used to gauge how widespread those ideas are within Russia, providing interesting intelligence to Putin.
22He's a foil intended to prove that Russian 'elections' are indeed fair, that people do have a choice and that Putin will commit to the mandate given to him.
I think the gauging might be part of the reason too.
But Putin is very sly and careful around dissenters. There's a reason Navalny isn't dead. He's careful not to create a martyr.
14
New law, all windows above the third floor must remain open for fire safety until the election.
21The question now is whether Russian authorities will allow him on the ballot.
The elections are rigged anyway.
18But they need seemingly legitimate opposition that doesn't really threaten them.
It doesn't matter if the election is rigged or not. It is all about appearances. Even though everyone with a half a brain knows what's going on.
7I was explaining why it's not a dilemma for the Russian government. You wrote "But..." and then made no counter argument, so I don't see what you're trying to say.
-1
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The stocky, bespectacled 60-year-old local legislator and academic has struck a chord with the public, openly calling for a halt to the conflict in Ukraine, the end of mobilizing Russian men for the military, and starting a dialogue with the West.
Nadezhdin’s name is a form of the Russian word for “hope,” and although he is highly unlikely to defeat the still-popular Putin, the lines are a rare sign of protest, defiance and optimism in a country that has seen a harsh crackdown on dissent since its troops rolled into Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Waiting to sign a petition in St. Petersburg, Alexander Rakityansky told AP he went through a “period of apathy when I thought I couldn’t do anything.” Now, however, he sees Nadezhdin’s campaign as a chance to exercise his civil rights.
Originally from Belgorod, the Russian border city hit by repeated Ukrainian attacks, Rakityansky said he backed Nadezhdin so his hometown “doesn’t get bombed and people don’t die on the streets.”
For Putin to win a convincing victory, he needs his supporters to turn out and his critics must stay home with no “glimmer of hope,” said Ekaterina Schulmann, a political scientist and nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin.
He has appeared as a pundit on Russian television and even criticized the conflict in Ukraine during a talk show on state-controlled NTV in September 2022 — a rare level of visibility not enjoyed by other opposition politicians such as Navalny and Vladimir Kara-Murza, both now imprisoned.
The original article contains 1,335 words, the summary contains 254 words. Saved 81%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
5Somehow from the headline I imagined something different. I somehow imagined a little Putin. Basically someone playing the game so hardcore on purpose that it is obvious that he is faking all of his public opinions. But by pretending to be anti-LGBT, pro war, etc, he would avoid all the possible made up claims of foreign agent, being anti-Russia, etc. So they would have to find some other reason to disqualify him. Imagine they'd not be able to find one and not kill him off and he would actually have to run in a DeSantis vs Trump like manner. And if he won he'd just break all his election promises. Stop the war, paint everything in rainbows, change the constitution back.
I mean I know that's bs but that's where my mind went and I want to keep it there for just 5 more minutes.
2