Here's the thing: Russia does have laws. It really does, absurd as that may sound at first. And those laws say this: a citizen who has held the office of the highest official of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation and has terminated those powers early by resigning voluntarily may not be nominated as a candidate in an election called as a result of those circumstances. This rule was introduced specifically for tricksters like "civil servant Sobyanin." In other words, if you resign, then resign already—don't immediately run again for the very post you just left. Especially if you previously shouted from the rooftops that early elections were unnecessary. True, there is a loophole. One deliberately left for tricksters higher up the chain than Sobyanin. A citizen may resign and immediately run for the same office if he*** has received the consent of the President of the Russian Federation***. Now then, we have all seen the documents on Sobyanin's resignation from the post of mayor, signed by the president. Like other acts of the President of the Russian Federation, they are issued in the form of decrees and orders and, under the Constitution, are subject to mandatory official publication. But where is the consent? That, too, must be formalized through official procedure. The President of Russia is a public official; he cannot give consent orally. We have examined with the utmost care all acts issued by the Kremlin and signed by Putin in recent times. We found no consent for Sobyanin. As we know, the Moscow City Election Commission (MGIK) very carefully checks candidates' registration documents. They simply could not have overlooked such a trifle as the Consent of the President of the Russian Federation. Quite some time ago, Andrei Buzin, a member of the city commission with advisory voting rights whom I appointed, submitted an application to MGIK Secretary Yermolov Yu.A., requesting a certified copy of the document confirming the consent of the President of Russia to the nomination of S.S. Sobyanin as a candidate for the office of Mayor of Moscow. Under the law, election commissions are required to provide written responses within 5 days to appeals submitted to them during an election campaign. But after 5 days, Buzin still had received no reply, nor was he given a copy of the document. We therefore assume that this document simply does not exist. These crooks are just carving up power like a piece of pie in their office: *- So, can I run in the election, Vladim Vladimirovich? Go ahead, Seryoga, run. You've got a big family, lots of daughters, and each one needs to be set up with four apartments. No objection from me*. *Ha-ha. Hee-hee, thank you, Vladim Vladimirovich*.
We would not like our campaign headquarters to be seen as frivolous litigants pestering everyone with formal legal nitpicking. However, we will defend our right to obtain documents, and the right of all Russian citizens to ensure that the most important political decisions in the country at least go through a formal procedure rather than being cobbled together on the fly. In light of the above, I am presenting the Moscow Election Commission with something like an ultimatum: either within 24 hours you comply with our lawful demand and produce for us a properly executed "Consent of the President of the Russian Federation to the nomination of S.S. Sobyanin as a candidate for the office of Mayor of Moscow," or we will go to court seeking the cancellation of S. S. Sobyanin's registration as a candidate for the office of Mayor of Moscow, on the grounds that in this case he does not possess passive electoral rights (the right to stand for election). You can ознакомиться with the text of the lawsuit here; it is all laid out there in detail and in clear terms.