Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei Navalny’s widow, today called on Russians to organize a protest on election day against President Vladimir Putin by forming long lines in front of polling stations.
Navalnaya has pledged to continue her husband’s work and opposition to the Kremlin following his death last month in an Arctic penal colony.
In a video on YouTube, Navalnaya backed an initiative to try to overload the electoral colleges in this month’s national elections, in which Putin will secure another six-year term as president.
‘We need to go to the electoral college one day at a time: March 17 at 12:00 p.m. What to do next? You can choose. You can vote for any candidate except Putin. He can override his vote. You can write ‘Navalny’ in big letters,” Navalnaya said in the video.
He called the March 15-17 vote a “farce” and said it was obvious that Putin would “craft whatever result he wanted.”
In a video on YouTube, Navalnaya backed an initiative to try to overload the electoral colleges in this month’s national elections, in which Putin will secure another six-year term as president.
Even though Russia appears somewhat autocratic, it is officially still a democracy and Putin needs to be re-elected to keep his position in office.
Supporters of the initiative hope it will be a legal and safe way for Russians to protest against the Kremlin.
Anti-government street rallies and demonstrations are effectively illegal in Russia, and their organizers and participants can be sentenced to years in prison.
Navalny also backed the proposal, which organizers called “noon against Putin,” in one of his last messages from prison before he died.
Putin has been Russia’s president almost continuously since 2000. The only time he wasn’t was between 2008 and 2012, when he was the country’s Prime Minister.
He is the longest-serving Soviet leader since Joseph Stalin.
Even though Russia appears somewhat autocratic, it is officially still a democracy and Putin needs to be re-elected to keep his position in office.
However, this is very likely, because Putin is believed to have killed the opposition leader, which would have presented a challenge.
The Kremlin denies that Navalny had any significant support within Russia and says Russian society is united behind Putin.
Electoral authorities have excluded genuine opposition candidates from the polls, and Putin’s staunchest critics are dead, imprisoned or exiled.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Moscow “will no longer tolerate criticism of our democracy,” as Western governments appear set to condemn the upcoming elections as neither free nor fair.
“We will hold the kind of elections our people need,” he told reporters.
If Putin is re-elected, he will remain in power for six years.
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Not only mourners gathered at Navalny’s funeral, but also anti-regime protesters.
Navalnaya said Wednesday that she had inspired hope to thousands of people who had visited Navalny’s grave with flowers and tributes since his burial last Friday.
He called them “the bravest and most honest people in our country” and said the show of support showed there was significant opposition to the Kremlin within Russia.
Flooding polling stations with queues to prevent Putin supporters from casting their votes is expected to result in a different election result, or at least prove something to the Kremlin.
Navalnaya said Wednesday that she had inspired hope to thousands of people who had visited Navalny’s grave with flowers and tributes since his burial last Friday.
Calling them “the bravest and most honest people in our country,” he said the show of support showed there was significant opposition to the Kremlin within Russia.
“We are many and we are strong,” he said.
Navalny also backed the proposal, which organizers called “noon against Putin,” in one of his last messages from prison before he died. Here is a painting to commemorate the man.
Putin has been Russia’s president almost continuously since 2000. The only time he wasn’t was between 2008 and 2012, when he was the country’s Prime Minister.
The Kremlin had threatened Navalny’s mourners with arrest under Moscow’s strict anti-protest laws.
Hundreds of people have been detained while laying flowers and banners at makeshift memorials to the opposition leader across Russia.
Moscow police have since arrested at least five people who attended Navalny’s funeral or visited his grave, human rights group OVD-Info said.