Allies of Russian opposition chief Navalny publish billboards asking residents to vote towards Putin

LONDON — Opposition activists in Russia got here up with a option to get round Kremlin censorship whereas urging residents to vote towards President Vladimir Putin in an election subsequent 12 months: billboards disguised as a New Year’s greeting.

The Anti-Corruption Foundation based by imprisoned opposition chief Alexei Navalny paid for billboards in Moscow, St Petersburg and different Russian cities which stated “Russia” and “Happy New Year.” But a web site deal with and QR code printed on the indicators led to a web site titled “Russia without Putin.”

There, voters had been inspired to oppose the longtime Russian chief on March 17, the day that Russian lawmakers set Thursday for the presidential election. The web site says the election is essential for Putin as a referendum on whether or not Russians approve of his battle in Ukraine, quite than an actual contest for the presidency.

“We understand that free and fair elections in Russia, like in any civilized European country, unfortunately do not exist,” Ivan Zhdanov, the Anti-Corruption Foundation‘s director, told The Associated Press.

Zhdanov said the billboards had been up for two days and it seems unlikely the agency that put them up checked the contents of the website ahead of time. Journalists for the Associated Press saw several of them were swiftly removed Thursday

Putin, 71, hasn’t but introduced his candidacy for a fifth time period, however he’s extensively anticipated to take action quickly. Asked whether or not Putin had determined to hunt reelection, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged reporters Thursday to “be patient.”

Zhdanov acknowledged the marketing campaign was unlikely to kick Putin out of workplace – “Nothing will change on election day,” he stated. The group can be not proposing a candidate inside Russia to problem Putin, saying the present repressions make it “impossible.”

“Ninety-nine percent of opposition figures who opposed Putin are now either in prison or abroad,” Zhdanov stated.

Navalny, 47, who’s Putin’s greatest political opponent, is presently serving a time period of greater than 30 years for convictions on extremism and different expenses that his supporters characterize as politically motivated.

The job for his staff now could be to “convince as many people as possible” that getting concerned in politics is essential and that “all their problems are to do with the war, with mobilization, with the death of soldiers at the front, with rising prices and with the isolation of Russia. They are caused by Vladimir Putin,” Zhdanov stated.

The web site linked to the billboard marketing campaign asks Russians to persuade 10 folks to vote towards Putin, together with by cold-calling folks, posting on social media, drawing graffiti and distributing leaflets.

“Right now, now people wouldn’t dare to do that,” Abbas Gallyamov, a Russian political advisor and former Putin speechwriter, stated, referring to a crackdown on public dissent that has silenced unbiased media and led to jail sentences for Kremlin critics and anti-war activists since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Despite the perils of protesting in Russia, the presidential election marketing campaign could faucet into frustration Russians really feel with Putin, who “has been making promises for a quarter of a century which are largely unfulfilled,” Gallyamov stated.

The folks of Russia don’t really feel “united politically,” he added, however the actions of Navalny’s staff would possibly generate “a huge wave of anti-Putin voting” if “it is joined by enough activists and becomes really visible both online and offline.”

If that had been to occur, Gallyamov stated he would anticipate the Kremlin to “falsify” the vote, though that will be tougher to do the extra folks abstained or voted towards the Russian president by selecting one other candidate.

The Kremlin has beforehand denied allegations of election-rigging.

Putin‘s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told The New York Times in August he was sure Putin would get reelected with more than 90% of the vote. He later told Russian newspaper RBC that “theoretically, (elections) don’t even must be held. Because it’s already apparent that Putin will probably be elected.”

According to month-to-month polls achieved by the Levada Center, a Russian pollster, Putin’s help stands at 85% now in comparison with round 65% within the months earlier than the invasion of Ukraine. Some analysts query the reliability of polling in a rustic with restricted free speech.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a Russian tycoon who moved to London after spending a decade in jail in Russia on expenses extensively seen as political revenge for difficult Putin’s rule, praised the Anti-Corruption Foundation‘s billboard stunt.

Khodorkovsky joked that it was a “special electoral operation” – a play on the time period “special military operation,” which is what the Kremlin calls its battle in Ukraine.

Despite divisions among the many Russian opposition, Khodorkovsky stated he supported “any model of behavior” which stated “no to Putin.”

“Our common goal,” Khodorkovsky wrote on his Telegram channel, is to point out we’re “fed up” with him.