There’s very little time left until the “elections.” It doesn’t matter that “wizard Churov” (Vladimir Churov, the former head of Russia’s Central Election Commission, often accused by critics of manipulating election results) is grinding away on his old organ; the “United Russia — the party of crooks and thieves” campaign showed that even using guerrilla tactics and with a zero budget, we can act effectively. Yes, the Party of Crooks and Thieves formally got almost 50%, but where is that party now? Putin is distancing himself from it in his campaign, pretending he has nothing to do with it. Its members want rebranding and even the party’s dissolution. The issue is not Churov’s percentages, but real support. And that support can and should be reduced through a campaigning effort. Everyone keeps talking about “going offline.” Great, so let’s look for suitable formats. We need campaign actions that can be done: for free, quickly, with no money, with no single command center, and with everyone taking part. The most obvious option: posters and notices.
(it didn’t work out in ’08, so we’ll do it in ’12) In every apartment building entrance and elevator across Russia, posters should regularly appear telling people about V. V. Putin, the leader of the Party of Crooks and Thieves. A poster can be printed on a home or office printer on an A4 sheet, downloaded from the internet. So let’s make poster designs that will destroy the remnants of this unpleasant man’s popularity—a man who wants to be the country’s president for life and steal everything here, including the snow. These posters will tell the truth about this villain and crook to grandmothers in Vladimir, grandfathers in Ufa, mothers of many children in Bryansk, accounting department employees in Nizhny Tagil, and people with disabilities in Kaliningrad. Let them be bold and hard-hitting, persuasive and vivid. A couple of times I announced an anti-Putin poster contest. It wasn’t very successful. But I did everything wrong: the comments were trash, and there was little creativity. Let’s steal some proper rules from tema (Artemy Lebedev) and add a few of our own: A contest is hereby announced for a campaign poster calling on people to vote against the leader of the Party of Crooks and Thieves—citizen Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. The poster must be truthful and persuasive. After all, the truth about citizen Putin is the most effective campaign message against him. The poster should provoke civic outrage and righteous indignation at the deeds of Putin, the Chief Crook. Choose the topic yourself. Anything you want: from the Ozero dacha cooperative (a well-known group tied to Putin’s inner circle) to “a vote for Putin is a vote for Kadyrov.” Find the right words and images yourself. - The poster must look good in A4 format - The poster must still look good after being copied on a standard office photocopier Post your entries in top-level comments on this post. In top-level comments, only entries related to the contest theme are allowed. Everything else I’ll delete. Idiots get banned, etc. No Photoshop gags, especially the kind that become indistinguishable when photocopied. Don’t post images on Radikal, they don’t display. Use Yandex Photos or any reliable service. In a week, an authoritative jury will select the 20 best posters. Our jury: 1. zhgun 2. Yolk in (aka ellustrator) 3. @KermlinRussia 4. and finally, varlamovru—the old Nashi supporter who wants to rehabilitate himself and earn forgiveness The 20 best entries will be put to a vote. The authors of the best works will receive cash prizes, and their creations will be seen by the whole country. Prizes: 3rd place — 15,000 rubles 2nd place — 25,000 rubles 1st place — 35,000 rubles (though of course we all remember that it’s not about the money, but about useful and fun public participation) The prize money has been provided by Varlamov, to whom it was passed by an acquaintance named Kristina on behalf of a donor who wished to remain anonymous. The content of the poster must not violate Russian law. I remind you that the offense of “insult” has been decriminalized and is no longer a criminal charge. Come forth, you monsters of creativity.