I really love this city. It always brings a lot of traffic to the blog, lots of messages, lots of donations, and lots of volunteers.
Even though the regional authorities, backed by the federal government, do everything they can to crush Yekaterinburg—taking away its funding and powers, and as crazy as it sounds, they really did strip the city government of its urban planning authority and even control over outdoor advertising—it remains a city of independent politics.
And at the opening of the campaign headquarters, we were reminded of that once again.
There were a great many volunteers:
A lot of media outlets came to the press conference.
Everyone is ready for active work and a real, hard-fought election campaign.
Near the headquarters, some pro-Putin activists staged a picket, and when we headed to a meeting with volunteers (we weren’t holding it at headquarters—there wouldn’t have been enough room for everyone, so we had to rent a separate hall), they ran after me waving an American flag. It was funny.
*- Dude, why are you walking around your hometown with a U.S. flag? - Alexei, it’s your flag! But you’re the one who brought it and is carrying it down the street—why? - I’m carrying your flag. Then why is it mine if you brought it? - Alexei, it’s your flag.*
Still, as someone who believes in democracy and debate, I simply invited the lead protester to a mini-debate at the meeting with volunteers.
It’s always quite interesting to ask Putin fans: do you like it when a deputy prime minister flies dogs around on a private jet? Do you like Putin’s oligarchs and their offshore accounts?
It very quickly turns out that they support all of our demands, but “you’re just working for McCain.”
All in all, Yekaterinburg is a fascinating place, and this city will play a major role in the campaign.
And there’s always a great cultural program there as well.
The new Yeltsin Center is simply wonderful.
And if you stop by the Brusilovsky exhibition, you might easily run into the mayor, who may even give you a tour.
There is no other city like it.
Thank you, Yekaterinburg! We’ll win together!
P.S. The schedule for campaign headquarters openings for the next few days is here.