In this historic video from December 13, 2016, Alexei Navalny announces his decision to run for president of Russia. He speaks openly about the things the Kremlin had kept silent about for years: staggering social inequality, a broken court system, and the total corruption of government officials. This address marked the beginning of an unprecedented regional campaign, which the frightened authorities ultimately tried to crush, predictably denying Alexei registration on a fabricated pretext.
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In just over a year, our country will hold elections
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for president.
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I spent a long time thinking about whether
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I should take part in them.
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And my thoughts were not even about how difficult it is
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in today’s Russia to campaign against the current
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authorities.
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I was thinking about whether this would be beneficial for everyone.
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Would it be good for the country, for
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society, for the state, for every individual
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person, including those who do not share my views,
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if I run in this election.
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Will I, together with those who support me, be able to make
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Russia better by taking part in the election?
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I came to the conclusion that yes, we can.
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I will take part in the race for the office of President of Russia.
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A real election is not just about the victory of one person.
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It is a clash of ideas, a competition of platforms,
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it is a choice of the path along which the country will develop.
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Unfortunately, we have already grown used to the idea that voting decides nothing.
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That is hardly surprising, because there have been no real elections in Russia
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since 1996, and that is one of the reasons for our dire situation.
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Those who are now in power have been there for
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17 years, and they have stopped responding to any criticism.
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Both the Kremlin and the government are concerned only with solving their own personal
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financial matters. That is why they do not
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tolerate and actively ban any criticism. They do not allow
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competition even in elections, and yet there must be competition. Without competition,
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any government gradually
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degenerates, and that is exactly what we are witnessing now.
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I am running in this election, and I will fight to win.
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I will speak about what
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everyone stays silent about, but what it is long past time
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to say out loud. How the country’s national wealth will be distributed:
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fairly, or whether 88%
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of the wealth will continue to belong to one-tenth of one percent of the population.
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Will working people finally be able to pay
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their mortgage in peace, or will they be crushed by insane interest rates?
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Why is it that no one in Rus- sia, except officials and
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oligarchs, can get justice in court?
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Why do newspapers and television now lie in virtually every word?
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Will there be peace in Russia, or will we once again be drawn
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into conflicts and wars? Will we spend
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billions on them that are so badly needed at home?
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Corruption.
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I very much want to discuss with those in power
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how much longer we will keep seeing ministers who have
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suitcases full of cash stored in their homes.
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In this election, we
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need to choose not just a person. It is time to choose between
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stagnation and a program of devel- opment. I am ready to offer the country
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such a program of development. I am ready to prove that
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it is better than what the authorities are offering.
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I, my team, and
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those people who support me are ready to fight for the votes
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of citizens and to persuade them that with our program we will make
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Russia richer, stronger, and freer.
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In this election, I want
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to become your voice. The voice of those tens of millions of people
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who work honestly, raise children,
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pay taxes, love their country, but whose voice the authorities
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do not hear, who are ig- nored, who are robbed,
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who are being deprived of the dignified life they deserve.
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This will be a diffi- cult path, but
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I am confident that we will succeed, because the truth is on our side.
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We will defeat inequal- ity, and we will defeat
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corruption. We will restore and improve healthcare
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and education.
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We will have a strong military and a dignified
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life for everyone who works. Friends, I call on you to support me and
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join my team. To fight together for a better
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future for our beloved country.