I had been waiting for this moment for exactly three months. On April 11, I announced the start of collecting signatures for RosPil’s bill to cap the cost of cars for government officials. Just one day short of three months and... TA-DA! We did it:
https://www.roi.ru/poll/petition/gosudarstvennoe_upravlenie1/zapret-chinovnikam-i-sotrudnikam-kompanij-s-gosudarstvennym-munitcipalnym-uchastiem-priobetat-legkovye-avtomobili-stoimostyu-svyshe-15-millionov-rublej/ At one point I caught myself expecting that when the counter flipped to "100,000," gold coins or tokens would start pouring out of my laptop, like in movies where someone hits the jackpot on a slot machine. No coins came pouring out, but I’m still very pleased. So now we have: A clear and unambiguous campaign promise from V. V. Putin B*esides that, Russian citizens will become active participants in the legislative process: they will not only delegate representatives to parliament, but will also be able to put forward legislative initiatives directly themselves. T**hus, any public initiative that gathers no fewer than 100,000 verified signatures online will be mandatorily submitted for consideration by the federal parliament. The Russian Public Initiative (ROI) website, created to fulfill that promise, where the signatures are not just verified—they’re verified to I-don’t-even-know-what extent. These aren’t signatures anymore; they’re armor. Not just a "public initiative," but an actual ready-made bill, regulating the purchase/rental/leasing of cars costing more than 1.5 million rubles (about US$45,000 at the time), and prohibiting the purchase/rental/leasing of such cars for state officials, employees of various state and municipal unitary enterprises, state corporations, and in general all procurement entities whose purchases are regulated by the state. A car costing more than 1.5 million rubles can still be bought, but only with permission from the president or the prime minister. A similar bill has already received support from the Communist Party, A Just Russia, and the LDPR factions in the State Duma (the lower house of Russia’s parliament). It was reviewed by the relevant Duma committee, and all the shortcomings that were identified were corrected. A clear understanding that 99.99% of Russian citizens support such a bill. And today we added the key ingredient to this invigorating broth: those very 100,000 signatures.
The will of Russia’s citizens has been stated clearly and unambiguously. We want this bill to be put to a vote in the State Duma. Let the "people’s representatives" vote, and we’ll watch. We all understand perfectly well that our "public servants" are not exactly eager to give up their luxurious white leather interiors and their sense of superiority over everyone around them. And already, deputy Lysakov, a representative of Putin’s so-called "People’s" "Front" (the All-Russia People’s Front), has declared:
Official cars should cost 3 million rubles for reasons of comfort and safety. "Front-line patriots," my ass. That line will make an excellent leaflet. Let them repeat it right there at meetings of their "People’s" "Front" to the workers from Nizhny Tagil (an industrial city often invoked in pro-government populist rhetoric). Of course, I doubt Putin will decide to quietly bury this issue and order United Russia to block the bill. Still, anything is possible. And this is where we must not doubt our own strength: if each of us had enough energy to go through the hellish registration procedure on Gosuslugi (Russia’s state services portal) and vote, then these 100,000 people across the country are unquestionably a colossal force—one that will spread far and wide the remarkable story of a nationwide expression of will, its being ignored, and "comfort and safety for 3 million rubles." In short, we did what we had to do. The signatures have been collected. The frying pan is on the stove. The snakes from "United Russia" and the "ONF" (All-Russia People’s Front) have already started to squirm. So let’s grab some popcorn, settle into a comfortable chair, and watch. Once again, thank you to everyone who took part in the campaign and showed a civic stance by pulling a fig sign (a rude dismissive gesture in Russia) out of their pocket and publicly flashing it at a passing Mercedes with AMR plates (license plates associated with high-ranking officials). Now we have something incredibly powerful. Our fist of 100,000 voices. In effect, we have created a kind of PEOPLE’S DEPUTY. He has no seat in the State Duma, but he is made up of 100,000 parts. Of each one of us. He towers like a mountain over ordinary deputies. And he has a very loud voice: if he roars, it is instantly a hundred thousand throats. From here on, things will be much easier. Useful and proper measures that need to be written into law, we will be able to put forward publicly and loudly. Placing them on the table with the words: the people demand it—please vote. Hooray! We did great. New bills and initiatives are coming soon.