This fall, we will see several major and interesting political campaigns. There will be real tension and confrontation. And in some places, an actual battle will unfold.
For example, in St. Petersburg.
There, 1,575 deputies will be elected across 107 municipalities.
So what do you think: in St. Petersburg, obviously the country’s most opposition-minded major city, what percentage of deputies represent United Russia?
About 25 percent?
Or maybe 39%, like in the last State Duma elections? The proportion can’t be that different. If anything, it should be lower for United Russia, given how opposition-minded the city is, right?
Well, here’s the reality: United Russia and its representatives disguised as independent candidates account for almost 1,400 of the city’s 1,500 deputies.
Ninety percent. And this is not some remote village called “Krasny Lapot” (a deliberately folksy, backwater-sounding name), but St. Petersburg.
So here it is: https://spb.vote/
Together with ALL the city’s political forces that are not United Russia, we want to take the fight to United Russia and win back a substantial number of deputy seats from it.
In a good scenario, a majority.
In the ideal scenario, to completely clear the city of the “party of crooks and thieves.”
This is absolutely realistic. We can do it with the help of Smart Voting.
We need to do two things:
Nominate 1,570 good, honest candidates and help them get registered.
Vote in a coordinated way for them, and only for them.
In St. Petersburg, the gubernatorial and local deputy elections will take place at the same time. Expected turnout is 29–35%. With turnout like that, 10% of motivated, disciplined voters will be enough to guarantee victory for all our candidates.
We have 10% of the voters—and in fact, many more than that.
We are recruiting 1,570 candidates here.
Of course, we will work with everyone: the “United Democrats” backed by Open Russia, the “United Democrats” backed by YABLOKO, A Just Russia, the Party of Growth and Oksana Dmitriyeva, and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
The maximum goal is to put together the ideal, strongest possible slate by taking the best candidates from everyone. The minimum goal is a balanced slate that can honestly, without any trickery, be called “united.”
Unlike other political forces, we are not imposing any party or ideological requirements. You do not need to kiss the banner of the Russia of the Future party or sign a manifesto saying that you will always support Navalny.
Be an honest person, be ready to run a solid, good-faith campaign, and be ready to work for your voters. If these three points suit you, go here.
The website is for both prospective candidates and voters.
Candidates will need to collect signatures, but the number is very small and should pose no difficulty. Anyone can gather 10 or 20 signatures.
We will help you with the paperwork, train you, and give you the tools you need to become a successful candidate.
Will this be connected to the gubernatorial election? Yes, in the sense that we will of course campaign as actively as possible against any United Russia candidate. I would not rule out that it may end up being someone other than Beglov—he looks far too weak and unelectable. The Kremlin will run its polling in March and will probably put forward someone else.
There is no point in discussing the gubernatorial election in more detail right now. There is a municipal filter there, we do not know who the candidates will be, and we cannot influence that process in any way.
So for now, all efforts should go toward the municipal deputy races. That is where we can shape the outcome.
None of this will be easy, needless to say. In St. Petersburg, it is common to keep people off the ballot, stage “early voting,” and falsify elections in every possible way—but despite all that, we are ready to fight back.
We cannot calmly accept the statement that “90% of municipal deputy seats in the city of St. Petersburg are controlled by United Russia.” This should not be the case.
P.S. People keep asking: when are you coming to St. Petersburg? My answer: I’ll be there soon—watch for announcements.