Jailed former FSB officer and pro-war blogger Igor Strelkov announces plan to run in Russia’s upcoming presidential election

Former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer and pro-war blogger Igor Strelkov (his real surname is Girkin), who was arrested for extremism, called on his supporters to start a campaign to nominate him as a candidate for the upcoming Russian presidential election.

Oleg Nelzin, the co-chairman of the Russian Movement for Strelkov, read out a letter by Strelkov, written in the detention center where he is currently being held, reported by Telegram channel Sota. In the letter, Strelkov asked his supporters to set up a headquarters and start collecting signatures for his candidacy. He also called on “all Russian patriotic forces, societal and political organizations” to support him. “This is our chance to unite in the face of external and internal threats,” Strelkov said.

On Friday, Sergei Udaltsov, the coordinator of the Left Front movement, stated that Strelkov would participate in “primaries to elect a single candidate for the presidential election from leftist and patriotic forces.”

Strelkov has been under arrest since July, when he was charged with extremism over posts he made on social media. He pleaded not guilty. The investigation was later classified.

His status as a defendant in a criminal case doesn’t prevent him from running for president, though he would not be able to campaign if convicted.

• Igor Strelkov is a former FSB officer. He led Russia-backed troops in eastern Ukraine. From May to August 2014, he also served as defense minister of the self-proclaimed “DNR.”
• In November 2022, a court in the Netherlands sentenced Strelkov to life in prison after finding him guilty in the case of the 2014 Malaysia Airlines crash in the Donetsk region.
• Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Strelkov has regularly commented on the course of the war, and has often criticized the actions of the Russian leadership.