It all came together very simply: Georgy Alburov from the investigations department came in, then the lawyers came in and said they wanted to run an experimental election campaign with a single plank in its platform: fighting corruption.
To keep the experiment pure, we decided to choose a region that politicians and political strategists consider extreme: Magadan Oblast. No one from Moscow or the federal political crowd ever goes there. It’s far away, expensive, there’s a huge time difference, and no one really understands what’s going on.
That doesn’t scare us. Magadan is Russia too, and the people there are just like everywhere else. The percentage of votes for United Russia is low there (which means people understand what’s what). And we’re sure corruption is hated there just as much as in the rest of the country.
In a way, this is a strategy of escalation. Since the United Russia people decided to stick a criminal conviction onto Zhora’s record through a fabricated case to damage his biography, then fine—Zhora will run in the election with that conviction listed right there in the official election documents, and he’ll tell the people of Magadan how and why he got it. I’m sure they’ll like that.
Our colleagues from RPR-PARNAS fully supported the idea and gladly agreed to take part. So this will be the party list of RPR-PARNAS.
Read Zhora’s post—he explains everything in detail:
The team there is made up of committed, cheerful people. It’s a good and honorable cause. When else will you get a chance to head to Kolyma (the historic region in Russia’s Far East associated with Magadan) in the summer? Join in—they need volunteers there.
P.S. If you know anyone living in Magadan Oblast, please forward this post to them.
P.P.S. A funny exchange between a Muscovite and a Magadan resident about Zhora’s nomination: