On March 17, 2024, the presidential election will take place. On that day, we call on everyone to go to the polls and vote against Vladimir Putin. You can do this by marking your ballot for any other candidate.
More importantly, we urge everyone to use the 100 days before the vote to campaign against Putin and his rule. Join the campaign here.
Without a doubt, what awaits us is a parody of an electoral process. And the final results will, as usual, be falsified. But any election, even the most fraudulent, is a time of doubt. People start thinking about who is in power and why.
The main task of the Russian opposition, the task of all honest citizens, is to answer those doubts with everything we have. To campaign. To explain that Putin, now 71 years old and in power for 24 years, must not remain for another six. He will harm Russia. He must go.
Campaigning matters more than voting. Your vote will mean little if no one knows about it. It will almost certainly be stolen in Putin’s favor. But you can defend your choice and give it meaning if you tell others about it. Tell anyone: relatives, friends, your social media followers, or strangers who read a leaflet you distribute.
Putin sees this election as a referendum approving his actions. A referendum approving the war. Let’s break his plans and make sure that on March 17 no one cares about the falsified result, and that all of Russia sees and understands: the will of the majority is that Putin must go.
This is already the case. Our verified polling data shows that fewer than half of Russian citizens want Putin to remain at the head of the country after 2024. Because of propaganda and censorship, there are still many who do. Our task is to undermine the foundations of that support by March 17.
Even official pollsters acknowledge that only 10–15 percent of citizens support the war.
Even doctors and teachers loyal to the authorities understand that Putin deceived them by failing to fulfill the salary promise he made 12 years ago.
Even those misled by propaganda cannot deny the huge rise in prices and the collapse of the Russian ruble.
Even cynical Putin supporters roll their eyes when they hear speeches about conservatism and family values from a thoroughly corrupt official who has three families at once.
The growing wave of truth about Putin and his cronies in the 100 days leading up to March 17 must be aimed first and foremost at those whom Putin himself sees as the core of his support: pensioners, public-sector workers, the military, security personnel, and mobilized soldiers. Above all, they must see this: Russia is campaigning and voting against Putin.
Our advantage lies in decentralization and elusiveness. We do not need to support a specific candidate or build a bureaucratic structure. We cannot be beheaded, silenced, or bought off. Arresting leaders will not help. This campaign has no leaders, and everyone is a leader.
We call for an end to the pointless argument with those who have decided to boycott the election. To the boycott supporters: we understand your position and share many of your arguments.
There is something that unites us.
We will campaign against Putin and vote against him. You should campaign against him too, and whether to vote or not is for you to decide.
Putin is afraid of our campaign. He cannot refute our facts. He is afraid of debate. His lies look more and more pathetic.
That is why he will deploy the full machinery of the state against our campaign. His goal is to achieve the opposite. He says: “Come and vote however you like. The main thing is to keep quiet about your choice. I’ll make sure the votes are counted the way they should be.” And he will try to intimidate and punish those who campaign against him.
We call on everyone: do not be afraid. Our fear is costing us our country and our future. Year after year, for 24 years now. Anyone who is afraid, for the sake of freedom, to put up a leaflet in their apartment building, send a link to a friend, or make a couple of phone calls, should ask themselves why they need freedom at all.
The future does not belong to the cowardly. The future belongs to those who overcome fear, keep fighting, and believe in victory.
We call for action.
The English translation is here.