Checkmate in three slogans

"The Other Russia" will teach citizens to vote against everyone

The opposition coalition “The Other Russia” plans to hold the next “dissent marches” on November 24 in Moscow and the next day in St. Petersburg. Next week, official applications for holding actions will be sent to the authorities of the two capitals. One of the leaders of the coalition, former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, told reporters about this yesterday.

He recalled that recently the other Russians took a letter with their candidates for deputies to the Central Election Commission of Russia, to which they received the expected refusal. “The Other Russia” does not have the right to participate in the State Duma elections on December 2, since it is not a party, so the trip to the Central Election Commission was rather symbolic. Now the other Russians are returning to the usual methods of street fighting. “We have prepared an appeal to representatives of various political forces who are or believe that they are in opposition to the current government to take part in these actions,” Mr. Kasparov said. According to Garry Kasparov, “dissenters” will march under the slogans “Russia without Putin!”, “No elections without choice!” and “Go away, your time is up!”

“Dissent marches” are known for the harsh actions of riot police during them. This time, Mr. Kasparov reassured journalists by reporting that in St. Petersburg, law enforcement agencies admitted that they were wrong. Therefore, he believes, this time the “march” in the city on the Neva should be smoother.

Mr. Kasparov’s comrade in the “Other Russia”, writer and leader of the banned National Bolshevik Party Eduard Limonov spoke about what, in his opinion, voters should do when they come to the polling station. For clarity, the oppositionists made a poster in the form of a ballot paper with the words “The Other Russia” written over the list of parties. By law, such ballots will be considered spoiled. “The CEC will have to record how many ballots were spoiled. This will be the number of people who expressed support for us,” said Mr. Limonov.

However, the writer is convinced that this result can also be falsified. “I am confident that the authorities will make an attempt to create a two-party system in our country,” he said. “And we are in favor of creating a warm political climate in the country.” Garry Kasparov added that damaging a ballot is not an illegal act. And he cited the chairman of the Central Election Commission, Vladimir Churov, as confirmation of this word, who advised those who wanted to vote against everyone to simply cross out their ballots. “In this way we are restoring the ‘against everyone’ position,” Mr. Kasparov explained.

Another leader of the Other Russia, Lev Ponomarev, noted that it is necessary to unite the opposition now, since after the elections the political space will be different. “We appeal to the Union of Right Forces, Yabloko, and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation with a proposal to also come to the “dissent marches,” said Mr. Ponomarev. “We must take stock of Putin’s work.” Mr. Ponomarev also rejected rumors that the Other Russia had been approached by representatives of the nationalist Movement against Illegal Migration with an offer to take part in the “Russian March” scheduled for November 4.

Ksenia VERETENNIKOVA