We declare a voters’ strike
Text version
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Hi, this is Navalny, with a video just like in
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the movies—you know the kind. If you're
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watching this video, it means something has
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happened to me. Only in our case, nothing has
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personally happened to me, but something has happened to
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the elections. We will not have elections, because
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Vladimir Putin is terrified, afraid
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of competition from me, sees it as a threat, and
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in full accordance with what he
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said earlier—that if someone posed a threat, they would not be allowed into
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the election—he gave orders to his
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servants in the Central Election
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Commission to deny my registration.
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It happened very quickly. Just
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late last night, the documents were submitted,
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and now the meeting is already about to begin. And it was
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this suspicious speed that prompted
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me to record this video in advance. I think
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what frightened them even more was the very
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nomination process itself. It took place in 20
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cities, was completely open, and it
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involved almost 16,000 people. Everyone
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saw that, and no one can possibly tell
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you and me that we
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represent only some tiny
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fraction of the electorate. But show me
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another candidate who is capable of
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organizing a nomination like this.
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And Putin, by the way, only today
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announced that he would not even come to his own nomination
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procedure. Well, of course—why
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should he make an effort if his main
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competitor has already been removed? We understood
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that this was possible, and we have a clear and
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precise plan. And now I am appealing to everyone
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with a call to join us. Even if you were not
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planning to vote for me and do not
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support me, you probably still have
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your dignity, and you believe that
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you yourself should decide whom
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to vote for, and that all candidates should be
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registered. We are declaring a voters' strike.
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The procedure in which we are being
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asked to participate is not
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an election. It includes only Putin and those
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candidates whom he personally selected,
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who pose not the slightest
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threat to him and who have not run and will not run
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a real election campaign. Our
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voters' strike means the following. First, we
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are not shutting down our headquarters across the country,
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but turning them into headquarters for the voters'
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strike.
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Second, we are not sitting on the couch and
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doing nothing. We are organizing
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monitoring of these elections, oversight of
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them,
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but not from the standpoint of the results of these
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fake candidates—rather from the standpoint of
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voter turnout. Because the Kremlin's main task
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now will be falsifying
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precisely
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voter turnout. Third, we will
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campaign against these fake
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elections and persuade people not to take part
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in them, because to come to the polling station in
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this situation is impossible and disgraceful.
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To come to the polling station now is
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to vote for deceit and corruption,
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to vote against the country's future.
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Forget all this talk about, "I'll come, get
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my ballot, and write Navalny on it." You must not
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do that. They do not care what you
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write there. They do not care whom you
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vote for. The only thing that matters to them is that you show up,
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receive a ballot, sign for it, and
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thereby recognize this procedure
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as an election. To come and receive a ballot
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already means
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voting for deceit and corruption. If you really
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desperately want to come to the polling station, well,
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then come—but come as an observer and count
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the voters. That is something we will definitely
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do.
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Fourth, every participant in the voters'
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strike should spend at least five minutes a
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day—at least one minute a day—
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helping spread our ideas,
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persuading people to join our
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strike and campaigning against this
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government. And fifth, if we do not recognize
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these elections,
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then of course we do not recognize their results,
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and we do not recognize the authorities who
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remain sitting in their offices as a result of
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these elections, because they stole those
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offices and stole those positions. We have no other
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option. This is our country. This is
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our future. They are harming our future and our
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prospects.
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If we do not stop them, they will never
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have enough. They have already sat in power for 18 years,
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and now they want 6 more.
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So what do you think—will they stop?
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Only you and I can stop them. I
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ask everyone to help me spread
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this video. Subscribe to our channel.
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This is where the truth is told.