Get involved in politics.
Starting today, it’s very easy to do, and your help is urgently needed.
Not “urgently needed” in the usual empty way people say it, but genuinely needed—and this is real politics, no matter what the armchair analysts say.
Elections have been announced in Moscow. Elections have been announced in St. Petersburg.
To get a sense of the authorities’ mindset, I’m asking you to spend five minutes listening to how students in St. Petersburg are being pressured into signing for that nonentity, Beglov.
He is one of the founders of United Russia, but he is running as an independent candidate. To do that, he has to collect 76,000 signatures.
Of course, the people of St. Petersburg are just falling over themselves in their rush to sign for Beglov.
That’s how they collect them, and then they’ll tell us about jubilant residents flooding the ruling party candidate’s campaign offices to add their signatures.
What staggering duplicity, hypocrisy, and sheer nastiness. And if you happen to live in St. Petersburg, I urge you to send this video to people you know and ask them: is this normal?
If they answer “no” (and I can’t imagine how they could answer otherwise), then you need to say the magic words: “Anyone but Beglov,” and send them this link. The magic words are for the gubernatorial election in the city; the link is for the municipal elections.
Now think about this: if even Beglov, with an army of officials and billions from the budget, has to collect signatures like this, how easy do you think it is for independent candidates?
In Moscow, an independent candidate has to collect about 5,000 signatures. And only signatures from people who live in that district count. It all has to be done on a very tight deadline, right now, when it’s hot and everyone has left the city.
I’ll say it plainly: COLLECTING SIGNATURES IS INSANELY HARD.
And your help is genuinely needed. This is real politics: helping decent candidates—people you can support without shame—collect signatures and get registered. Helping those who act in our interests.
Yashin and Sobol, who are set to compete against hypocrisy incarnate in the form of chief physician Federmesser and HSE (Higher School of Economics) vice rector Kasamara, who is driving decent but independent professors out of the university.
Milov, who is being opposed by a lying propagandist from NTV backed by Sobyanin.
Yankauskas, whom the mafia kept off the ballot last time—and we must do everything we can to make sure he gets through this time.
We want to help the other independent candidates too. We want to make it easy for you to leave your signature for them. That’s why we have set up a special Signature Collection Center in Moscow—a single location in the city center where you can come and sign, no matter which district you live in.
This is not a simple task; we need staff and volunteers. Come along—this Saturday there will be a training session for those who want to help. You can sign up here.
Take part in politics directly. Here are five outstanding candidates. Pick your candidate and back them—make them your voice and your deputy. They are running in specific districts, but that’s not hugely important: every deputy speaks for all of Moscow.
Ivan Zhdanov — Aeroport, Voykovsky, Koptevo, Sokol districts
Lyubov Sobol — Arbat, Presnensky, Khamovniki districts
Vladimir Milov — Konkovo and Tyoply Stan districts
Ilya Yashin — Krasnoselsky, Basmanny, Meshchansky, Sokolniki districts
Konstantin Yankauskas — Zyuzino, Nagorny, and Chertanovo Severnoye districts