That is exactly what is happening: these three brave and honest people have gone on a hunger strike to defend the right to elections for all Russian citizens. What happened yesterday in Siberia, when the opposition was thrown off the ballot, will be repeated across the country tomorrow. The same script will be used in the State Duma elections as well.
The real opposition will not be allowed in, and the fake one ("moderate," "systemic"—call it whatever you like) will not be able to clear the threshold, because no one actually needs it. For another five years, the Duma will once again be occupied by hellish ghouls, and there will not even be anyone left to argue with them from the podium.
Ordinary decent people—of whom there are very many in Russia—will receive no political representation.
And I am very proud to work with these wonderful people and, more broadly, with everyone at the Novosibirsk campaign headquarters—lawyers and volunteers alike.
People are writing that this is an act of desperation. Of course it is an act of desperation—that is precisely why people resort to such an extreme form of protest: you cannot force the authorities to meet your lawful demands, and you cannot keep tolerating lawlessness either.
Can you imagine how it feels for people who held honest primaries, put together a candidate list, did an enormous amount of work collecting signatures (making the entire process fully open), and every minute of that work knew they were doing something lawful and socially beneficial for everyone around them—only to have some brazen crooks look them in the eye and say, "In our database, your Darya Timurovna is listed as Darya Timurovich, so we will not allow you onto the ballot"?
We know perfectly well that the crook Neverov keeps coming to Novosibirsk; he is known for little besides building palaces with money from unclear sources, and it was he who was implementing Moscow's instructions that the Democratic Coalition must not be allowed to take part in the elections.
Why should Neverov and United Russia get to decide for Siberia? Who are they? Who elected them to do that? Who supports them?
And so, at the headquarters, lying on thin mattresses, are people who have gone to the front line in the fight against injustice.
I want to quote political analyst Alexander Kynev, who put what is happening very well:
How can you help our comrades?
Right now, the most important thing is simply to spread as much information as possible about the hunger strike. First and foremost across Novosibirsk Region, but really everywhere. They will not talk about this on television, because for the authorities the very fact of it is catastrophic: if the approval rating is 86%, then why is the opposition being barred from the elections? if the goal is "maximum transparency in elections", then why does anyone have to go on hunger strike just to take part in them?
Everyone will start thinking about these questions—but first they need to be told about the very fact of this protest hunger strike and all these tricks with "Timurovich."
If you are in Novosibirsk, you can simply stop by the headquarters and support the hunger strikers with a kind word: 62 Krasny Prospekt.
We are now finalizing a program of concrete actions and will write about it later.
And one more brief message specifically for the residents of Novosibirsk Region.
Friends, you were told fairy tales about the opposition bringing in "American technologies," but in reality you have seen how "Mordovian-Chechen technologies" are being introduced in Siberia—methods that guarantee 99% for the desired party and eliminate any surprises in the elections.
Whatever your political views may be, perhaps you were not planning to vote for the democrats and PARNAS, but do you really agree that some shady crooks should be telling you who should be on the ballot and who should not?
Take note, those of you with conservative views: even Rodina was barred from the elections. That party had Crimea, Novorossiya (a pro-Russian term for parts of eastern and southern Ukraine), and as much "spirituality" as anyone could want—but the Kremlin calculated that "they are taking votes away from United Russia," and that was the end of it. Novosibirsk residents are not being allowed to vote for Rodina.
In your region, PARNAS is running three local candidates. They want things that would make life better for everyone: oversight of housing and utility rates, a fight against corruption, and the defense of freedom of expression and assembly. They are now on hunger strike for their right to compete for your votes, and for our shared right to cast our votes for those we consider worthy. This is a noble struggle—support them.