Boris Nadezhdin has become a dilemma for the Kremlin as he seeks to run in the March 17 presidential election. The question now is whether Russian authorities will allow him on the ballot.
The stocky, bespectacled 60-year-old local legislator and academic has struck a chord with the public, openly calling for a halt to the conflict in Ukraine, the end of mobilizing Russian men for the military, and starting a dialogue with the West. He also has criticized the country’s repression of LGBTQ+ activism.
“The collection of signatures has gone unexpectedly well for us,” Nadezhdin told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday in Moscow. “We didn’t expect this, to be honest.”
The cynic in me tells me this guy is used to gauge how widespread those ideas are within Russia, providing interesting intelligence to Putin.
He’s a foil intended to prove that Russian ‘elections’ are indeed fair, that people do have a choice and that Putin will commit to the mandate given to him.
I think the gauging might be part of the reason too.
But Putin is very sly and careful around dissenters. There’s a reason Navalny isn’t dead. He’s careful not to create a martyr.
He tried and failed to kill navalny once.
And after that he changed his mind