Russian anti-war presidential candidate Boris Nadezhdin says he has been banned from running against Vladimir Putin in the carefully managed presidential elections in March.
Earlier on Thursday the central election commission (CEC) said it had found “irregularities” in over 9,000 of more than 100,000 signatures of support submitted by Nadezhdin.
That figure was three times higher than the allowable 5% error rate and provides grounds for the commission to disqualify Nadezhdin.
CEC’s deputy chair Nikolai Bulaev said last week it had found 11 “dead souls” among the more than 100,000 signatures of support submitted by Nadezhdin.
Great comment. Thank you so much for taking the time, it explains a lot. Especially the last paragraph, about what that number of votes in that particular set of circumstances really means. Спасибо.
You’re welcome and пожалуйста. I consider my English skills one of (if not the) most important assets of mine and try to use it to offer some perspective from within the anti-war/Putin population; I can’t say I’ve seen many other Russians doing the same in places I visit, so I try to be the voice when I can.
Sometime ago I considered making a blog for that kind of thing or something, but ultimately fell out of it as I doubt I’d keep it well enough to gain proper traction; and it’s much more work than writing comments and talking to people on a more personal level, which may divert a huge chunk of my attention, too, resulting in a clouded perspective.
I am so grateful for your contribution in this regard, and you’re right, it’s often missing. But if there is any one single element that can stop wars, it is anything that can humanize the members of opposing sides to each other, make them see each other not as one homogeneous whole but as individuals like themselves, and in this regard every little piece counts. You are doing this too, and doing it well. When you write of Nadezhdin, you not only humanize him for us, but you also humanize the members of Russian society who have zero desire for either war or empire building, which is what Putin is set on.
I am also aware that when you, and others like you, try to add this valuable perspective in public forums you run the risk of being jumped by edgelords who will never get past “enemy = bad” and verbally attack you no matter what you say – and that’s above and beyond whatever risk you may be running from various governments just by posting. I think sometimes we are excellent at silencing the voices we most need to hear, and I am so grateful when Russian anti-war people choose to speak up anyway. I have nothing but the utmost admiration for that, knowing what dangers it can present, especially for those still in Russia.
Your English is perfect! I had no idea I was reading the comment of a non-English speaker until three or four paragraphs down. I know better than to press paragraph breaks on a Russian (I’ve known Russians and honestly we should be glad there are even separate sentences, lol) but the shorter you can make your paragraphs, separating them by single ideas or topics, the more readable they are to English speakers. And if they never change at all, you’re still golden.
I wish you and every Russian the nation you want, the leader who represents the people you originally thought you were getting, and the place in the world you were poised to have before a thief took it from you. Yours is a truly great nation, and I hope once again to see it thrive among all the nations of the world.