The elections were canceled, the hunger strike ended

The court of the city of Lermontov, Stavropol Territory, canceled the elections of city council deputies after two hours of proceedings and a twenty-minute break, the day after the visit of the presidential envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District Alexander Khloponin.

The courtroom was filled with hungry supporters, but on the other side there was only the chairman of the TEC and a representative of the regional election commission. Khloponin honestly admitted that he came at the request of Vladimir Putin, guaranteed a “correct and legal judicial decision” and asked the starving people not to go hungry in the future. In the city court of Lermontov, PublicPost was told that there were no consultations with Khloponin before the hearing, they made a decision based on the law, so they would not comment on the official’s guarantees.

The head of Putin’s election headquarters, Stanislav Govorukhin, also came to calm the hungry. During the 5 minutes of the official meeting, he did not utter a word. However, once in the foyer, he began hugging former hunger strikers.

Details of the meeting and future plans were reported to PublicPost by one of the hunger strike participants, Sergei Shapovalov, a member of the LDPR.

— What did Khloponin tell you outside the press conference?

At the meeting, Khloponin asked us not to go hungry anymore. He said next time just go straight to him and resolve issues directly with him.

— Did you have time to talk with Govorukhin? Khloponin admitted that he came at Putin’s request, but what did Govorukhin say about this?

Yes, behind the scenes he wished us success and good luck. He said that he really supports our city, has known about it for a long time and is glad that he came here. He is constantly in our (Stavropol - PP) region, he is assigned here to the United Russia party, we constantly work with him. Let me tell you, he actively takes part in the life of the region. And here, as a deputy, he fulfilled his sacred duties.

— Will the picket that you were planning to hold this evening take place on the main street of the city?

Yes, it will happen. We must explain to people how and what. Moreover, no one has canceled campaigning for the presidential elections. At the picketing, slogans will be voiced for fair elections, because we have ensured that the elections are held fairly. There was a problem - the problem was solved. Thanks everyone. Now there will be no protest picket, it has taken an ideological turn - we will campaign to come to the presidential elections.

— How many participants are expected?

I think, given recent events, there will be no more than two thousand people. The authorities allowed us to hold a picket for three thousand people.

-Are you home already? How are you feeling? Planning to host a holiday dinner?

Everyone is feeling great, the judge saw everyone, we were all in court. We got out of the hunger strike well with the help of dairy products and all kinds of yoghurts. Today after the rally, I think there will be a festive lunch. I really want barbecue.



The hunger strike of former candidates for deputies of the council of the city of Lermontov, whose population is just over 22 thousand people, began a week ago, on February 21 . Ex-candidates, including members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Liberal Democratic Party and A Just Russia, occupied the hall of the city hall and declared an open-ended hunger strike in protest against the actions of the local election commission. The TEC eliminated most of the candidates from the previous convocation of the City Council - out of 122 people, 90 were registered. Protesters demand to cancel the elections to the City Council scheduled for March 4 and dissolve the TEC. On Thursday, February 23, all hunger strikers were forced to leave the city administration building and move to the premises of the former pension fund . On Sunday, February 26, in the center of Lermontov, two representatives of the hungry - Viktor Kapustin and Alexander Dunaev - appeared on an improvised stage. The authorities did not allow the rally, the city was cordoned off by police, but more than 1,000 city residents came to support the protest participants.

Candidates for deputies of the city council of the Stavropol city of Lermontov declared an indefinite hunger strike in protest against the actions of the local TEC and, with the support of local residents, seized the lobby of the city hall building. >>>