Oh, this has finally been described. It’s incredibly interesting to read, and it completely matches our own sense of how it all happened.
The project has published a long detailed account of how the Kremlin, Moscow City Hall, and Smolny (the St. Petersburg city administration) turned the upcoming elections into a political crisis.
The essence of the story is that after conducting polling in the summer, City Hall panicked. And for good reason. Let me remind you that by that point we were already actively promoting "Smart Voting". Five candidates, backed by the ACF, were running extremely active campaigns.
The data showed that Sobol, Zhdanov, and Yashin would easily win in their districts, at the very least. That’s when everything started spinning into motion.
In short, it’s very important to read this, but it’s even more important to draw the right conclusion, and it is this: both the Kremlin and City Hall are terribly afraid of "Smart Voting." They’re afraid it will work.
Well then, that means it’s important for us to make sure it works. Guys, sign up and invite everyone.
You’re sitting on the couch thinking, "It’s all pointless," while Sobyanin and Kiriyenko are trembling and lamenting: "My God, if he just gets up off that couch, we’re done for."
So get up already. Smart Voting.