Khodorkovsky asks Russian election officials to stonewall Putin's reelection candidacy

Former oil tycoon, now a political oppositionist in exile, Mikhail Khodorkovsky has sent an open letter to the head of Russia’s Central Election Commission, asking the agency to assert its independence from the Kremlin by refusing to register Vladimir Putin’s candidacy “for a fifth term.”

In the letter, Khodorkovsky argues that Putin has spent 17 years in power, saying that Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency between 2008 and 2012 was actually Putin’s third term. “This move was politically immoral and technically illegal,” the oligarch says.

• Vladimir Putin announced his intention to seek reelection on December 6. Russia’s next presidential election will take place on March 18, 2018, on the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s annexation of Crimea. Putin says he will run as an independent, meaning that he needs to collect 300,000 signatures in support of his candidacy.