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Hi, this is Navalny. I'm marking an anniversary: 6
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years have already passed since the moment I
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started
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trying to register a party, and here in my hands
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is yet another reply from the Ministry of Justice.
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I'll turn it over, and together we'll find out
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whether it is allowed in Russia to register
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a genuine opposition political party.
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But maybe there is some example for us
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to follow—though overall this has been anything but simple.
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The story is this: 6 years ago our party
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was called People's Alliance, and we
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were denied registration. They said parties
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are only for Putin, Zyuganov,
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Zhirinovsky, and Yavlinsky. But the name
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People's Alliance
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was becoming popular, so they stole it from us
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by renaming one of
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the Kremlin's parties that way.
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Then our party was called the Party
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of Progress. We demanded registration
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and the right to take part in elections. We were refused, because
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parties are only for Putin, Zyuganov,
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Zhirinovsky, and Yavlinsky. Soon
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the name Party of Progress also began
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to become popular, and that too was stolen from us
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as well,
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by renaming one of
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the Kremlin's parties the Party of Progress. Now our party
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is called Russia of the Future, and for the eighth time we
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have held all the congresses and conferences and
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yet again been denied registration. Parties, once again,
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are allowed only for Putin,
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Zyuganov, Yavlinsky, Zhirinovsky, and now also
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now, apparently,
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Sobchak. It's obvious why they refuse us.
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Because you and I would go to elections and
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defeat United Russia, get into the State Duma (the lower house of parliament),
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create commissions for parliamentary
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investigations into corruption, and start repealing
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laws that make people's lives harder. Putin doesn't want
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that.
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And that's why he won't let me onto the ballot and
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keeps our party from being registered. But
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the main thing is that this hypocritical
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little man also constantly squeals that
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we supposedly don't offer a constructive agenda
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and only hold rallies. But I believe
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that we can have dialogue, especially with
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presidential-level repression like this.
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Some suggest
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a constructive approach, even
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one of a critical nature.
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But what else is left for us to do? The media
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are closed, there is no party, there are no elections, the entire
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political system is frozen.
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And for 20 years now, for twenty years, nothing
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has happened there. There are no new parties,
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no normal politicians who
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would represent the people rather than themselves.
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So of course the truth is that right now
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the only thing that can be done is
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mass protests.
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Putin himself has cut off all the other ways
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to influence the authorities. If you and I had
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a party,
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we would have blocked the increase
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in the retirement age in the Duma, as happens
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in normal countries. But in the Duma there sit
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nothing but obedient dummies, so we
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will block the increase in the retirement
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age by taking to the streets and organizing
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protests across the country on September 9,
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and afterward as well. They may ban our
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party, but Putin will not succeed in stripping us of the right
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to express our opinion.
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Subscribe to our channel. Here
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we tell the truth.