This platform reflects Alexei Navalny’s views and convictions on the key challenges facing Russia’s development. During his many trips across the country, Navalny saw which issues concern people most of all. With the help of experts, he outlined approaches to solving these problems.
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Address to Voters
In Russian political tradition, a “candidate’s platform” is something that is, on the one hand, mandatory, and on the other, useless to everyone. A file on a website that nobody downloads, or an 18-page booklet that nobody reads. I don’t want that, and more importantly, I can do it differently. We are running a real election campaign, with actual campaign offices in almost every region of Russia, around 200,000 volunteers, and tens of thousands of people coming to meetings.
My election platform comes from the people. I have held more rallies, voter meetings, and ordinary conversations than all the other candidates put together. People tell me about their problems, I consult experts, and I propose solutions. That is how this platform takes shape. It is the subject of constant discussion and development. It is a living platform. Much of it is made up of the stories of real people—the people for whom I am running. Take a look, and I am sure that in some of these stories you will recognize yourself. That moment of recognition will be the most important thing for me and for our entire team. It will mean that our platform is needed. It will mean that I am running while representing your interests as well.
Alexei Navalny Candidate for President of Russia
Economic Agenda
Russia is tired of the endless rivalry among three unproductive schools of economic thought: Alexei Kudrin and the “systemic liberals,” who want to raise the retirement age and cut social benefits; Sergei Glazyev and the “dirigistes,” who want to unleash money printing with an excessively sharp rise in prices, overregulate the economy, and close the borders; and, of course, Putin’s government, which simply has no intention of doing anything to improve the economy and continues only to enrich officials and monopolies.
To change this situation, we plan to:
• Raise the minimum wage to 25,000 rubles (about $400 at the time). Given the wide variation in average incomes across Russia’s regions, this increase will be phased in gradually, at different speeds in different regions, but no longer than within 5 years.
• Cut red tape and break up monopolies in the construction market, reduce mortgage rates to 2%, and actively support infrastructure development for new residential districts. This will make housing affordable.
• Increase social benefits and target them more precisely to people with disabilities and those in need who find themselves in difficult circumstances, making these benefits more effective.
• Introduce a compensatory tax for the use of infrastructure created by the labor of previous generations and unfairly privatized in the 1990s and 2000s. Similar payments for the use of infrastructure belonging to former regionally owned state enterprises should be transferred to the regions.
• Create a special fund within the Pension Fund of Russia (PFR), to which all state assets, a share of revenues from natural resource exports, and proceeds from the compensatory tax will be redirected to cover pension system expenses. At the same time, the insurance-based portion of contributions to the PFR will be reduced, while the funded portion will become untouchable. Moreover, the money taken from citizens over the years through the dismantling of the funded pension component will be returned to them. The operation of the fund and of the entire pension system will be made fully transparent.
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Prosperity for Everyone, Not Wealth for the 0.1%
Wealth inequality in Russia is among the highest in the world. At one end are people swimming in money, keeping it in secret offshore accounts and buying up real estate around the world; at the other are outright poverty, predatory payday loans, and an impoverished “middle class” with no ability to secure decent housing or save for old age.
To change this situation, we plan to:
• Raise the minimum wage to 25,000 rubles (about $400 at the time). Given the wide variation in average incomes across Russia’s regions, this increase will be phased in gradually, at different speeds in different regions, but no longer than within 5 years.
• Cut red tape and break up monopolies in the construction market, reduce mortgage rates to 2%, and actively support infrastructure development for new residential districts. This will make housing affordable.
• Increase social benefits and target them more precisely to people with disabilities and those in need who find themselves in difficult circumstances, making these benefits more effective.
• Introduce a compensatory tax for the use of infrastructure created by the labor of previous generations and unfairly privatized in the 1990s and 2000s. Similar payments for the use of infrastructure belonging to former regionally owned state enterprises should be transferred to the regions.
• Create a special fund within the Pension Fund of Russia (PFR), to which all state assets, a share of revenues from natural resource exports, and proceeds from the compensatory tax will be redirected to cover pension system expenses. At the same time, the insurance-based portion of contributions to the PFR will be reduced, while the funded portion will become untouchable. Moreover, the money taken from citizens over the years through the plundering of the funded pension component will be returned to them. The operation of the fund and of the entire pension system will be made fully transparent.
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Fight Corruption, Don’t Tolerate Theft
Russia needs an “anti-corruption revolution.” Today, corruption has become a sprawling and sophisticated system through which narrow groups within the bureaucracy and oligarchy appropriate the fruits of economic activity. Corruption permeates the Russian state from top to bottom, distorts the political system, weighs heavily on business and the public, and obstructs economic growth and diversification.
The fight against corruption is the main structural reform in both politics and the economy. Without success in this area, other reforms will not have the desired effect. We propose the following priority steps:
• Establish a special independent anti-corruption body outside the law enforcement system. Its leadership will be appointed only by agreement between the president and the State Duma.
• Fully ratify the UN Convention against Corruption, including its provisions on combating the illicit enrichment of officials, and generally toughen penalties for corruption offenses.
• Transfer state-owned companies, along with other state assets, under the control of the special fund within the PFR. This will place their management under strict public oversight.
• The management of state-owned companies will be subject to the same income and expenditure disclosure rules as government officials.
• Begin an active search abroad for Russian money stolen through corruption, with the aim of returning it to the country. These funds will also go into the special fund within the PFR.
• Reduce the state’s role in the economy as an owner and market participant.
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Hospitals and Roads, Not Palaces for Officials
A crucial element of genuine popular rule is returning to society the tools to control how the budget is spent—a budget funded by taxes paid by citizens and businesses. Today, these funds are shamelessly appropriated by the bureaucracy and affiliated business interests. This not only violates the principles of social justice and fair competition, but also deprives the country of resources for development—investment in infrastructure and human capital.
To turn the budget from a tool of corruption and unfair enrichment for the few into a tool for developing the national economy, it is necessary to:
• Make the budget transparent by reducing spending items hidden from the public, stop subsidizing politically motivated and economically unjustified “priority projects” under the “National Economy” budget heading, and reallocate part of the funds from defense and law enforcement to healthcare and education, allowing spending in these areas to rise to the level of developed countries.
• Break up monopolies in the economy, restore competition, and reduce bureaucratic and law-enforcement pressure on business—this will revive and encourage entrepreneurial initiative and help move from oligarchic capitalism to social capitalism.
• Cut red tape in relations between business and the authorities and minimize state control over business, significantly reduce payroll taxes, and drastically cut taxes for small businesses. These changes will not only stimulate economic development, but also make the distribution of income from economic growth fairer.
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Trust People, Don’t Decide Everything in Moscow
Though formally called a federation, Russia has by now become a unitary state. We need to start moving in the opposite direction—toward restoring the balance of powers between the federal and regional authorities and significantly expanding the role of local self-government as the foundation of the entire system of popular rule. To do this, we must:
• End the participation of higher-level authorities in forming lower-level ones, while granting full independence to regions and municipalities. To support this, raise the status of elected officials in regions and municipalities and grant them immunity unless removed by court decision.
• Redistribute tax revenues and budget powers from the center to the regions and, above all, to municipalities. The municipality will become the key link in the system of government.
• Give municipalities and federal subjects the ability to compete for investment and human resources. To this end, they will be granted greater powers to adopt local laws and the right to pursue flexible tax policies.
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Justice for Everyone, Not Arbitrary Rule by the Security Services
Over the past 17 years, Russia’s law enforcement system has been transformed from an institution for protecting citizens’ rights and freedoms into an institution for keeping power in the hands of one circle of people. As a result, the country’s citizens have been deprived not only of honest investigations and fair trials, but also of the ability to feel safe, despite the substantial budget spending on these state structures.
To correct this situation, it is necessary to:
• Restore the independence of the judiciary. Among the first and most obvious steps are reducing the influence of the executive branch headed by the president, dismantling the “judicial vertical” (Russia’s top-down system of court control), and returning real independence to judges. Of course, this must also include lustration for judges found to have participated in unjust, politically motivated, or orchestrated trials.
• Put law enforcement agencies in the service of citizens, protecting their rights and freedoms and ensuring public safety. This requires decentralizing the system in favor of regional and municipal authorities, reducing the management apparatus, cutting red tape in investigative work, and abolishing the “quota system” (“palka system,” a target-driven performance system based on case numbers). At the same time, the police should be relieved of unnecessary functions, the National Guard (Rosgvardiya) should be significantly reduced, the prosecutor’s office should be stripped of its general oversight role, which is also performed by specialized authorities, the FSB should be deprived of political surveillance functions, and the army should be made fully professional.
• Humanize the Criminal Code. Reduce penalties for a wide range of offenses, especially in the economic sphere; make imprisonment, including during pretrial proceedings, a measure of last resort used mainly for violent and socially dangerous crimes. After that, grant amnesty to those convicted under criminal statutes recognized as unjustifiably harsh.
• Radically change the way the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) operates: instead of being merely a “punishment enforcement service” that only breeds more crime, it should become an institution for rehabilitating convicted citizens. Along with personnel and structural reform, this will help make the system more open to the public and ensure the separate detention of first-time and non-violent offenders from repeat offenders and those convicted of serious and especially serious crimes.
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Economic Development, Not Political Isolation
In the modern world, it is more advantageous to befriend and trade than to wage war. Russia should use its unique position between Europe and Asia to become a respected partner for all. In today’s world, the countries that are respected are those whose citizens live in freedom and prosperity.
We need to do the following:
• The hundreds of billions that Russia is currently throwing away on wars in Syria and Ukraine, and on aid to distant countries, would be better spent on improving life at home.
• It is in our country’s interest to pursue political and economic rapprochement with prosperous European countries.
• Russia needs a visa regime with Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Labor migrants should come on work visas, not in the uncontrolled way they do now.
• Russia should be a leading country in both Europe and Asia. The country should expand its influence through economic strength and cultural outreach, including support for the Russian language worldwide.
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Power to the People, Not Monarchy
At present, there is a huge imbalance in the distribution of power: the legislative and judicial branches have become appendages of the presidential vertical and obediently carry out its will.
Among the main measures of political reform, we propose:
• Move from a super-presidential system to a presidential-parliamentary republic. This will require limiting some presidential powers, returning to a 4-year term in office, and limiting presidents to two terms, whether consecutive or not. At the same time, parliament’s powers must be expanded, after first re-electing it in fair elections and restoring a 4-year term of office. The Federation Council should become a genuinely functioning body whose members are elected by the regions in direct elections.
• Reform electoral and party legislation to ensure freer and more equal access for citizens to politics at every level. To protect the newly built democratic electoral system, it will be necessary to increase liability for interference in elections and ensure the real independence of election commissions.
• Remove the church from any involvement in state affairs and abandon ideological control over citizens’ public and private lives, including in culture and the arts.
• Restore freedom of information and the media. To do this, it will be necessary to repeal laws that in any way restrict freedom of speech; make the internet self-regulating; reduce and cap the state’s share in the media; and prevent the concentration of multiple media outlets and stakes of more than 25% in federal television channels in the same hands. In addition, a system of state grant support for independent media should be introduced to prevent market monopolization. Decisions on awarding such grants should be made not by officials, but by independent public commissions.
• Carry out lustration. Its objectivity and effectiveness will be guaranteed by a specially created commission made up of representatives of different branches of government. In addition, it will identify and repeal harmful laws adopted over the past 17 years and investigate cases of political repression.
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Expert Board of Presidential Candidate Alexei Navalny
Public opinion leaders and professionals in economics, law, and culture are taking part in drafting and editing the presidential candidate’s platform. Their experience and expertise make the platform balanced and realistic.
Vladimir Milov Economist, former Deputy Energy Minister
Pavel Chikov Lawyer, head of the human rights group “Agora”
Elena Masolova Economist, entrepreneur
Sergei Aleksashenko Economist, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, 1995–1998
Boris Akunin Writer, public figure
Maxim Mironov Economist, Professor of Finance
Elena Lukyanova Doctor of Law, Professor
NAVALNY 20:18
© 2016–2026 Alexei Navalny 2018@navalny.com