One of the most notorious heads of regional election commissions—Irek Vildanov from the Moscow Region—stepped down after the new composition of the Central Election Commission declared no confidence in him.
One could write at length about Vildanov’s manipulations, but it’s better simply to cite the excellent “Five Feats of Vildanov” by election-monitoring activist Tatyana Volkova. It explains everything.
The dismissal of this crook is the result of broader pressure on the Central Election Commission from election observers (special mention should go to the group that worked on the elections in Balashikha and to those fighting lawlessness in the Volokolamsk district, especially Artyom Lyubimov)), but above all it is the result of our “Barvikha experiment”.
And here I would like to stress once again that the strategy of demonstratively and publicly refusing to take part in an election has become the most effective way to fight for fair elections.
Yes, there will be no genuinely fair elections under this regime; it is pointless even to dream of that. But if we are going to use electoral methods of struggle, we need to do it intelligently and at least draw some red lines for ourselves: beyond this point, participation in the election is no longer acceptable.
And it was difficult for our own candidates—who had put enormous effort into campaigning in Barvikha and could see from the polling that they had a chance to win—to withdraw from the election.
And it was emotionally difficult to resist the chorus of “if you entered the election, then fight to the end.”
We publicly withdrew from the election, setting out our demands, and achieved the main thing: the election was canceled and rescheduled, and Vildanov was dismissed.
So once again: never listen to those who shout, “you have to take part in any election—it’s an opportunity” and “if you entered, stay on the ballot to the very end.” That only looks like a strong position; in reality it is the weakest and most cowardly one—just go with the flow and do not try to change the rules of the game.
There is no dogma here: taking part in elections is good, but refusing to take part is also possible—and necessary—when that red line is crossed.
A separate point about the claim that “you’re being played, this is all a game.” Of course it is a game: the Presidential Administration and the Central Election Commission are making small concessions to convince us that the elections will be “more or less fair.”
That does not change the fact that Vildanov’s removal is something to be glad about. The administration of the concentration camp has thrown out its chief sadistic guard. It does not break the system, but it is still a good thing.
Any small positive steps can and should be welcomed. The main thing to remember is this: for the upcoming State Duma campaign, the key criterion for whether this is a real election or not is the admission of candidates and parties.