“Nothing can be changed in Russia.” “The people at the top have already decided everything for us.” “What’s the point? That’s just how things are done here.” How many times have we all heard, read, and thought these things? It’s like a record with the word “hopelessness” stamped across it in huge letters, put on for us every year at the beginning of September, playing on repeat: “Sit quietly, stay out of politics, _nothing_will_come_of_it_anyway_.” It will. But not on its own. This Sunday, elections will be held in 39 regions of Russia. And this is exactly the moment to break that stupid record. Smart Voting. This year, in many districts, the outcome will depend on just a few dozen votes. We need to unite and vote in a coordinated way for the strongest candidate who is not from United Russia, and then we will throw United Russia members out of the regional parliaments. Go to the website (link in profile), enter your address, find out the name of your candidate, and come to the polling station. It’s a small effort that anyone can make in order to be, by Monday, just a little bit closer to the beautiful and free Russia of the future than we are today.