Thousands of Russians rally in favor of a candidate who will challenge Putin

Since Saturday, despite the bitter cold, thousands of Russians have been waiting to sign their initials in support of Boris Nadezhdin, largely unknown to the general public.

One by one, they enter the electoral headquarters, the entrance to which is sealed with the phrase: “Open the door to the future.”

If they're there, it's because the former elected official, who has worked in the liberal opposition but also in movements more attuned to the authorities, says he opposes the Russian offensive in Ukraine.

So far, Boris Nadezhdin, who had connections within the regime, has not been targeted for the repression that has nonetheless decimated Russian civil society since the mass entry of Moscow forces into Ukraine in February 2022.

“Without fear of arrest”

And again on Sunday, during a YouTube debate with Russian journalist, now in exile, Yulia Latynina, he reiterated that he is for peace and his desire to put an end to the mobilization if elected.

In recent months, he declared that Russia should “elect a new president” and described the intervention in Ukraine as a “huge mistake” on the part of Vladimir Putin.

To compete in the presidential election, he must first collect 100,000 signatures from voters by January 31. Its website claimed it had raised nearly 85,000 as of Monday evening.

His positions constitute an exception in Russia, where almost all figures opposing the attack on Ukraine have fled the country or been imprisoned. Just like thousands of anonymous people elsewhere.

Other presidential candidates are careful not to express the slightest criticism of the Russian attack and of Mr. Putin.

In the queue to signatories, Ivan Semyonov, a 19-year-old biotechnology student, says he came to support Mr Nadezhdin because he was “moved by these amazing photos that were broadcast this weekend on social networks, showing a lot of people coming ‘support him’”. “.

“For many people, it is the possibility to express their disagreement with what is happening, without fear of being arrested or fired,” the young man explains.

Originally from Omsk, in western Siberia, nurse Natalia Avdeeva, who was passing through Moscow, rushed to the opponent's election headquarters. She is “pleasantly surprised” to see such a crowd.

“We are all united here to support a candidate who opposes the special operation,” the 53-year-old said, using the required euphemism for the conflict.

” Hopes ”

Boris Nadezhdin, a liberal lawmaker in the Duma, the lower house of parliament, in the early 2000s was close to his opponent Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated in 2015. In recent years, he has become closer to the political groups closest to the Kremlin, without Have any interest in the subject. By following the line.

However, Vladimir Putin, who has been in power for almost a quarter of a century, must again be re-elected to the Kremlin in mid-March.

However, hundreds of unknown people are lining up in front of Mr. Nadezhdin's office excitedly.

Some point out that even the candidate's last name inspires them, as its root is the same as the word “nadejda”, meaning “hope” in Russian.

Andrei Vanyukov, a 52-year-old businessman from Syktyvkar, in Russia's far north, knows the outgoing president will remain in office, but wants to “support anyone as long as they are against” Putin.

Even if Nadezhdin has no chance of winning the elections […]“For people who never went out to protest in the streets for fear of repression, it was finally an opportunity to express themselves,” he says.

Valery Bredykhin, a 36-year-old psychologist, confirms that he is satisfied with “the possibility of expressing himself without the risk of imprisonment or beatings.”

Ksenia Golubtsova says she especially wants “change!” “I want my two children, who are both four years old, to live in a more open and free country.”