The 2022 elections and Smart Voting. September 11 is the nationwide voting day, and yes, of course, we are urging you to go out and vote. And yes, of course, we are organizing Smart Voting this time as well. Since the start of the war, the regime in our country has been completely transformed, which has once again raised the question: does it still make sense to vote? I believe it does. The essence has not changed. Putin rules—and was able, among other things, to launch a criminal war—by relying on repression, control over the judicial system, propaganda, and his party, United Russia, which controls councils of deputies across the country. Any action aimed at weakening any element of Putin’s system is the right thing to do and a citizen’s duty. Everyone is free to choose the methods of resistance that suit them. Using one method does not rule out using another, and taking part in elections remains, while not the most effective method (at the moment), the safest and simplest form of resistance. In any case, the best measure of its effectiveness, as usual, comes from the authorities themselves, who have spent the last two months in a frenzy removing undesirable candidates from the ballot. And let me remind you: they have declared Smart Voting extremist. So if they dislike it that much, go and vote smart. You have nothing more important to do on September 11. There is, of course, electoral fraud, and there will continue to be. But Smart Voting has shown more than once that it can break through fraud as well. Otherwise, they would not be removing candidates if ballot stuffing alone solved all of Putin’s problems. For our part, we have done enormous work to break through all of Putin’s systems of blocking and censorship and to guarantee you free and convenient access to Smart Voting. We got Apple and Google to restore our app, which they removed a year ago after yielding to Kremlin blackmail. Be sure to download it again or update it: it includes several new ways to bypass blocks. You will get Smart Voting recommendations no matter how hard Roskomnadzor (Russia’s federal media and internet censor) tries. The website is also still working (it is accessible from Russia via VPN), and the Telegram bot is working too. ______________ This year, we are giving recommendations only in Moscow, in the municipal elections. First, because Moscow had the largest number of Smart Voting participants last year, when we managed to outvote United Russia in most districts. Second, like it or not, Moscow is where everyone looks when assessing protest sentiment. Third, there are still many good people on the Moscow candidate lists whom we can help elect as deputies. They have no other chance. And where there are no good candidates, we will use the not-so-good ones to damage the truly bad ones. If you support a boycott of the elections—no problem. I hope that by September 11 you’ve found a more effective way to act. But if you decide to vote, helping the good and weakening the bad, remember: only a coordinated strike at one point will be effective. Then your vote will carry maximum weight. All clickable links are in stories and bio. Putin and United Russia mean war, lies, corruption, and poverty. By participating in Smart Voting, you are voting against war, lies, corruption, and poverty.