School students, don’t let yourselves be deceived

Hi, this is Navalny. School students, I’m

recording this video for you because it is

you who, in Putin’s cunning plan, have been assigned

the most important role in these presidential

elections. And you may be surprised right now, thinking,

how can that be? I’m not even 18 yet,

so I can’t even vote. But that’s exactly

where the trick comes in: there’s a scheme to deceive you

and use you, counting on the idea that you’re

still young and naive

and don’t understand anything. I don’t want that, so

I’m telling you about the plan

of these crooks. Look, this is a decision by the

Moscow Region Election Commission,

but I have no doubt that similar

things will be done all across the country,

so most likely this will affect everyone.

This document says that

at the same time as Putin’s re-election on March 18,

a school referendum will be held throughout the Moscow Region,

and all school students from 1st

through 11th grade will be able to take part during the day and

express their opinion on the most

pressing issue for school students.

But let’s guess for ourselves what that

question is. If you wanted all

the students at your school to come running to vote,

what would you ask them?

Whether they should be allowed to go without indoor shoes,

how many slow songs should be played at the school disco,

whether there should be less homework, and

whether they agree to study six days a

week. Yes, that’s it — that’s the winning question.

That is what will appear on the referendum.

And any normal school student — I remember myself —

would of course vote against

having to study on Saturdays. But this is basically

a stupid question, straight out of an

old Soviet movie. And that is exactly

the whole point: to lure you to the referendum.

Voting on a question like this is part of

the cunning plan of Putin’s officials: since

the real election is a complete sham and no one

wants to go, they need to

drag school students into this kind of referendum.

And along with the students, of course,

their parents and grandmothers will come too, because they’ll bring

their children to vote against

the six-day school week. And while they’re there,

they’ll also vote in Putin’s re-election.

That is exactly why, despite the fact that

the school referendum is formally called

an online vote, it still

requires a polling place and

people to show up in person. You all

must understand that this is an absolutely

dishonest, fraudulent plan, based on the idea that

well, they’re just school kids — they’ll never

figure out our super-clever trick, and they won’t

be able to put two and two together.

A fake referendum, and the need

to bring voters to equally fake

presidential elections. And I urge you

to be smart and not let yourselves be fooled.

After all, this referendum, like all

the other school referendums that

will be held across the country, is a fraud. It has no

legal force whatsoever. It will affect

nothing and resolve no issues.

It cannot resolve anything: every school studies according to

its own curriculum. The purpose of this

referendum is, first, to make sure that on March 18

you increase voter turnout — that with your own

hands you undermine the election boycott and

the voter strike, because you yourselves would go to

the schools

where the

polling stations are located, and accordingly

you would bring your parents and grandmothers there too.

And if Putin thinks you are fools who can

be used, then I believe that the younger

generation must think for itself, must

take an interest in politics, must fight

against injustice, and must actively

resist attempts to

make fools of you. Explain to your classmates,

your parents, and your teachers the essence

of this fraudulent scheme. Tell them that

taking part in such a school

referendum means supporting

the people who are looting and robbing our

country, who have made you and your

families poorer. These people have been in power for 18 years and

have already lost the people’s trust

so completely that they now need some kind of referendum

to drag people to the polling stations. But if that’s the case,

then our task is to make sure that as

few people as possible take part in

Putin’s re-election, and to make sure that as

many people as possible take part in

the voter strike — that is, they do not

go to the polls, campaign against

the election, but monitor the voting. You are still

underage, but this is already your first

test of civic awareness, your

chance to influence those in power. Right

now, you school students, by acting against

these school referendums, against these

fake elections, are becoming

one of the most powerful political forces

in the country — stronger than any political

party, stronger than any candidate.

Use this opportunity. After all,

our country exists for you.

Take part in the voter strike and

subscribe to our channel.

Here, they tell the truth.