Well then, the election is in three days. We’ve already made life a bit harder for the Party of Crooks and Thieves, but there’s more to do. Up to 30% of people decide what to do in an election at the very last moment. That’s why these remaining three days are extremely important. This is the time for one-on-one persuasion, whose importance cannot be overstated. Each of us must do our duty as citizens and patriots of the country. Here’s my simple list: A personal appeal is the most effective form of campaigning. No posters, stickers, radio, or the zombie box (slang for television) can compare to it. Even the most unsociable person—even if he’s a programmer living in a cave and coding in "BASIC"—has at least five people for whom his opinion matters. Make a list of five people, call each one, and explain how important it is to come to the polls and vote for any party against United Russia—the Party of Crooks and Thieves. Call the people you think will be easiest to persuade. Relatives first. Grandmothers. Your aunt.
Persuade all your elderly relatives. If persuasion doesn’t work, scare them.
If you’re elderly yourself, persuade people even older than you.
Brothers, sisters.
Make sure there isn’t a single relative you’re on normal terms with who hasn’t been reached.
After family, move on to colleagues at work or school. Start a conversation about politics.
Remember that any honest conversation about politics leads to one conclusion: United Russia is the party of crooks and thieves. That’s inevitable, because it’s true. All that remains is to persuade everyone to vote against it.
After colleagues, move on to friends.
Important:
don’t campaign for any specific party. Campaign against the Party of Crooks and Thieves and its political monopoly. That’s more effective and won’t drag you into unnecessary details.
- don’t be afraid that you won’t persuade anyone or that you won’t sound convincing. Even if it seemed to you that you failed, there’s a good chance the person will follow your advice but simply doesn’t want to admit it to you. People who start persuading others will definitely convince at least someone.
If you realize that the "client is ready," be sure to ask them to do the same—call 5–6 relatives.
Visual campaigning. Everyone has printers at home and at work.
Find posters you like here, here, here, or anywhere else on the internet. Print 7–10 copies. Over the remaining days, carefully tape them up in the elevator or entryway. Morning and evening. On the way to work and on the way back. That’s what I’m doing. Sure, they’ll probably stay up for no more than an hour. So what? Some people will still see them. Then we’ll put up a new one—it’s no trouble. The most active and civic-minded can print more and drop them into mailboxes in their building or throughout the whole apartment block. It’s easy and doesn’t take much time. Yesterday evening my wife and I went out and put posters up on our building and the neighboring one. We also did some explanatory outreach with the neighbors we ran into—"hey, what are you sticking up there?" Though honestly, you don’t have to try very hard—everyone curses United Russia anyway. The main thing is to put the posters up carefully and not damage the walls. All in all, it took 30 minutes. Not hard, right? We’ll go again today. Put up a poster near your workspace, if possible. Remember: the mirror in the office restroom is the most effective advertising space. 3. Send anti-Crooks-and-Thieves videos to anyone you can via Skype, email, ICQ, whatever. There are already tons of them. Don’t forget that we have a music contest against the Party of Crooks and Thieves: send around a clip you like. There’s also a video made through our joint efforts (already 1.7 million views). 4. Join in—if it’s generally appropriate—any political conversation you overhear with our imperative: "come to the polls and vote for any party against United Russia—the Party of Crooks and Thieves". Example: *- Pass your fare forward, please. Oh, we’ll pass it along all right, but when will those United Russia people, those damned crooks, stop robbing us? Just look at them, stuffing Swiss bank accounts with money. I’m going to the polls and voting against those bastards. And soon we’ll start punching their faces in too!* That is, of course, an example for the most outgoing among us. Anyway, you get the idea. On Sunday—election day—send text messages to the people you campaigned with. Make a couple of reminder calls. Vote (you know how). That’s all. It’s really not difficult, it’s fun, and it doesn’t take much time. It would be great if you added a couple of points of your own to these six. Even better if you’re advanced enough to go work as an election observer. But these six are the mandatory part of the program and everyone’s duty. Let’s do it—no one will help us except ourselves.