Alexei Navalny’s speech at the “Let Them Run!” rally in Moscow
Text version
0:02
Hi. This is Navalny.
0:09
>> In light of the previous speaker, I can't help but ask
0:12
you,
0:15
what do you think,
0:17
can love (Lyubov Sobol - "lyubov" in Russian is a woman's name and also the word for "love") be banned? No.
0:20
>> Can love (Lyubov) be banned in Russia? No.
0:25
>> Can graphologists ban love (Lyubov)?
0:27
No. Can working groups ban
0:30
love (Lyubov)? No.
0:34
>> We have gathered here for love (Lyubov) and for the law.
0:38
And as for me, having come here, to be honest, I feel
0:42
bewilderment and jealousy as well. Real
0:46
jealousy. I'm upset. Why? Because
0:49
before, I used to be such an exclusive
0:52
guy. They wouldn't let me in.
0:56
My rights weren't recognized at all.
0:59
The authorities don't see me. To them,
1:01
officially, I'm nobody.
1:04
And then came the mayoral elections, and they wouldn't let
1:06
Yashin and Gudkov run. And I was already thinking,
1:09
"Damn it, Dima, Ilya, don't climb
1:13
onto my pedestal."
1:16
I want to be that exclusive."
1:20
And two weeks ago
1:23
they said that Navalny and another 28
1:26
people are nobodies, not even fully people.
1:31
The damn graphologists won't recognize them.
1:34
I got really worried,
1:39
>> but now
1:41
now we've officially been told,
1:45
>> that we're nobodies. That's how it is.
1:48
5,000 people for each of the nearly
1:52
30 candidates.
1:54
150,000
1:56
people.
1:58
They are second-class people. They are nobody, they
2:02
do not exist. Ugh, to hell with them.
2:05
And now it's starting to feel a little crowded for me.
2:09
But
2:11
I see a big upside in this.
2:14
At last, we're together. At last, you and I are
2:17
of the same blood. To them, we are people
2:22
who do not exist.
2:23
And now we must do everything we can
2:26
to prove the opposite. Agreed?
2:31
>> I see a slogan here: "No taxation without
2:35
representation."
2:37
>> That's an important idea. Agreed?
2:42
>> When we pay taxes, we exist.
2:46
When we have to pay utility and housing fees, we
2:48
exist.
2:50
When they need to steal our pension
2:52
savings, oh yes, we exist. Come on
2:56
over here, pay up, put money into the budget,
3:00
from which they will buy themselves
3:01
big black Mercedes cars.
3:04
But when it comes time to vote, no, we're all nobody.
3:10
Before, they used to toy with just a few
3:12
individuals,
3:14
but now they have started to toy with hundreds of
3:17
thousands of people. We will show them that this is a
3:19
dangerous game.
3:22
>> We will show that we are determined.
3:26
>> Two things I want to say.
3:30
Why did they keep the candidates off the ballot?
3:33
To push through their United
3:37
Russia, so that all 45 seats would go to United
3:40
Russia. And of course, I'm having déjà vu. Back in
3:44
2011, I shouted: "What is the name of that
3:47
party that wants to seize everything?"
3:49
Remind me, what is that
3:51
party called?
3:55
The party of crooks and
3:58
>> The party of crooks and
4:01
>> the party of crooks and
4:04
>> I don't want to see it. I don't want, in a
4:07
city where these
4:11
crooks and thieves have their lowest approval rating, for them to take all
4:13
the seats. They're simply rephrasing
4:16
a famous saying: "A deputy can be
4:19
anyone at all, as long as it's a deputy from
4:21
United Russia."
4:24
We must break this scheme. They
4:28
put up United Russia candidates and some of their own
4:30
stooge guys. The elections themselves, even
4:34
dishonest elections, we must turn into an
4:37
instrument for humiliating United Russia.
4:40
Let's make it so that even a damn calculator
4:43
becomes a deputy, just not a United Russia one.
4:46
Let's make
4:48
>> smart voting happen. Each of us must
4:51
bring people in so that they understand: "It won't
4:54
work like this: I won't let
4:57
normal candidates run, and then we'll elect
4:59
absolutely anyone, just not a United Russia candidate."
5:01
Do you support that?
5:06
>> And now, of course, all of you are thinking,
5:11
"What comes next?"
5:16
>> We are asking ourselves the question: "What
5:18
next?"
5:19
And Sobyanin, look, you can see his little mug
5:22
over there. He's peeking out, peeking out.
5:24
He's hiding behind the curtain. He's asking him
5:27
self: "What are they going to do next?
5:29
Come out and then disperse."
5:34
>> Will they forget tomorrow what they were talking about
5:36
today?"
5:37
>> No.
5:38
>> Will they swallow the insult?
5:41
>> No,
5:45
>> that's for the candidates to decide.
5:47
It's their strategy, it's their rally.
5:51
But I would propose the following public
5:55
compromise to Moscow City Hall. I haven't been to
5:58
such a large rally in a long time. I have a
6:00
feeling that we can gather an even
6:02
bigger rally. Can we?
6:06
>> A peaceful, wonderful, excellent compromise.
6:10
The compromise is this:
6:13
This is my proposal to the candidates. Either by
6:17
next Saturday you register everyone,
6:20
>> or next Saturday we gather outside
6:23
Moscow City Hall
6:25
>> and we do not leave.
6:28
A show-of-hands vote. Do you support
6:30
that idea?
6:34
I understand that, of course, look over there,
6:37
there are already those wonderful rosy-cheeked
6:40
The police bluff and say, "We’ll
6:42
detain you."
6:44
Go ahead, detain me.
6:47
Who is ready to be detained for the sake of their
6:50
future?
6:52
>> Who is ready to do 15 days in jail for the sake of their
6:55
future?
6:57
>> Who is ready to bring a few more people to the next
6:59
rally and not
7:01
be afraid?
7:02
We have nothing left to lose. There is nothing left to lose here
7:06
anymore. They’ve devoured everything.
7:09
This is impossible to tolerate.
7:13
This has been going on for years. Raise your hands,
7:15
those whose entire lives have passed under Putin.
7:21
Raise your hands if half or
7:24
a third of your life has passed under Putin.
7:28
Rona.
7:29
>> Raise your hands, those who do not want to die
7:31
under Putin.
7:37
>> I propose that our candidates consider
7:40
this issue. I propose to Moscow City Hall,
7:44
the presidential administration,
7:46
and everyone else a simple, normal public
7:48
compromise, like in the Golunov case (the Russian journalist Ivan Golunov).
7:51
You released him, and we did not take to the streets.
7:54
You register them, and we will not come out.
7:57
If you do not register them,
7:59
we
8:13
>> have no other way.
8:16
There is no other way. We have tried everything
8:19
possible. We found candidates, collected signatures,
8:23
went through the most idiotic
8:26
procedure, the most difficult, monstrous
8:29
signature-gathering process, and in the end received only
8:31
a spit in the face. Of course, no one wants to go anywhere
8:34
and sit in the rain and spend the night on the
8:38
street. Of course not.
8:41
We want to stay home, but not in front of
8:44
the TV, in front of YouTube. We want
8:47
to go about our own business, but we want
8:50
to know that we are recognized here.
8:54
I want to live only in a country where the proof
8:58
of a person is not some damn handwriting expert. They can
9:01
go to hell with their handwriting expert. The proof
9:04
of a person is
9:06
a passport of the Russian Federation. The proof
9:08
that a person lives here, exists here,
9:11
pays taxes here, and has rights. I
9:14
see people here, and I will not allow
9:16
their rights to be ignored. Are we ourselves ready
9:19
to spit on our own rights? No.
9:24
>> In the September 8 elections, we must crush them
9:27
no matter what. Not a single
9:30
United Russia candidate, not in a single district.
9:34
But for now
9:36
we must fight for our candidates.
9:38
Will we fight? Yes.
9:41
>> I will always stand with you. I hope
9:44
that you will stand with me. Thank you
9:46
very much.