Russian elections face potential shake-up as anti-war Boris Nadieżdin fights to run

On January 31st, Boris Nadieżdin tendered the prerequisite 105,000 supporting signatures from numerous Russian regions to the Central Election Commission. The commission, accordingly, has until February 10th to authenticate the signatures and decide on enlisting the politician into the roster of candidates. The presidential elections in Russia will occur from the 15th to the 17th of March, 2024.

It stands to reason that Boris Nadieżdin could be the sole politician openly opposing the war running for the post of the Russian Federation's president. "I am a Russian patriot and that is nothing but bare truth! I ardently desire Russia's greatness, but not in the vein that Putin envisages, brandishing Kindžals and Iskanders [missiles employed in the Ukrainian war - Editor's note]" he expounded during an interview with independent Russian service Meduza's journalists.

"Russia should represent a free, serene country that everyone is drawn to and where people feel contented," he added.

"At this juncture, I dread envisaging how all of this could conclude," Nadieżdin confessed further. He added that it's miraculous they permitted him to gather signatures and that previously "people approached him" offering assistance with website creation and campaign fund accumulation.

Russian commentators regard the 'miracles' surrounding Nadieżdin's campaign with scepticism. "Let us refrain from pretending that these are genuine elections. This is unfeasible currently. Aside from Vladimir Putin, the governing authorities haven't registered a single substantive candidate. Registering Nadieżdin simply isn't plausible. The remainder has acquiesced to playing the part of extras, merely to provide Vladimir Putin's re-nomination campaign with an appearance slightly resembling an election race," comments Radio Svoboda website's columnist Ivan Preobrażenski.

Reports from the Meduza portal denote that the Kremlin isn't prepared to permit the Central Election Commission to register any anti-war politicians for the election. 60-year-old Boris Nadieżdin is a deputy of the Russian parliament - the Duma. He gained recognition via his appearances on Russian state television, in which he opposed the war and was repeatedly interrupted and shouted down by propagandists.

Thus far, the Russian election commission has registered the candidates: Nationalist Leonid Slutsak, Communist Nikolai Kharitonov, and New People party member Vladislav Davankov. Several others who announced their candidacy stepped down, advocating support for Putin.

A kind of motley procession of candidates, whom journalists referred to as "the circus preceding Putin's act," passed through them. Blogger and ecologist Anatoly Batashevsaid failed to gather signatures. He then rescinded his candidacy and reasoned that it was beneficial to the environment. By eschewing the printing of support sheets, he purportedly saved 10 pine trees.

Rada Russkikh, a 39-year-old beauty industry blogger journeyed from Yekaterinburg to the election commission's headquarters. She arrived with merely a single box of signatures and then announced her decision to exit the race, with the goal of drawing attention to animal welfare, especially that of dogs.

Against such a backdrop, Boris Nadieżdin appears rather commendable. He recollected that in the summer of 2023, he failed to register as a candidate in the Moscow region's gubernatorial elections. He alleges having then warned officials, "Since you're not admitting me, I'm going to give you a hard time! I'll return as a presidential candidate."