Today we opened our 15th and 16th campaign headquarters—in Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar.
In Rostov-on-Don, we had rented a hall where we planned to hold a meeting with volunteers, but in the morning FSB officers (Russia’s security service) arrived and said they were conducting “exercises” there, so our opening would not take place. At the same time, several Cossacks (members of a traditional paramilitary-style community) came to our hotel and demanded that Volkov come out and speak with them. The conversation lasted 40 minutes.
By that point, we had moved the volunteer meeting and decided to hold it in the hotel’s conference room. Some of the volunteers managed to get inside, but in the end the Cossacks blocked the doors and refused to let anyone in, including hotel guests. The police, who had been called, did nothing—they sat in nearby cars and simply watched what was happening.
Of course, we held the meeting anyway, although unfortunately not everyone who wanted to take part was able to. The Cossacks were making noise outside the windows, and when we finished, they still would not let us out, bracing the doors shut. In the end, we did manage to leave the hotel; the Cossacks immediately lost interest and dispersed. All the volunteers were able to leave the hotel without incident.
In Krasnodar, Cossacks also came to our meeting—and, for some reason, so did people dressed as cartoon characters. Still, they all behaved equally peacefully.
They did not interfere with the volunteers, and the opening went very well. A full hall, more than 200 volunteers, excellent and substantive questions; we talked for two hours. There is no doubt that both the headquarters in Rostov-on-Don and the one in Krasnodar will meet their targets for collecting and verifying signatures.
Tomorrow, according to plan: Stavropol.