Tula beat Tambov’s record from yesterday. There, 28 venues refused to let us use their premises for a meeting with volunteers.
Apparently, the reason is the local governor’s particular “fondness” for discussing corruption issues in the context of his 700-million-ruble apartment (about $7.7 million USD at today’s exchange rate). Many people are wondering how someone who has spent his entire life in government service could possibly have acquired something like that.
Fortunately, that didn’t stop us: our campaign office in Tula (9 Leyteizena Street) is spacious, and we held a great meeting there.
At the Tula meeting, a terrific woman showed up with the angry question: “So what do you live on?” We agreed that if I explained it, and she couldn’t explain the governor’s apartment to us, then we’d see her at our rally on June 12.
So now she should come.
And in Kaluga, it was nothing but peace, calm, and quiet. That confirms our theory that we face the most obstruction in regions with weak governors who are insecure about their position.
Hilton rented us the venue. No one from the authorities paid us any obvious attention (well, the “E Center” officers—anti-extremism police—were sitting quietly in the lobby). The local NOD (National Liberation Movement, a pro-Kremlin political group) wanted to debate me; they weren’t let in because of a misunderstanding, but after the meeting I apologized, and the debate will take place at our campaign office.
With Yevgeny Zhazhin, the coordinator of the campaign office in Kaluga Region. The office will be open starting Monday at 67 Tulskaya Street. Come by—you’ll be welcome.
More photos here.