Translated material
Bolotnaya Square. Now in Astrakhan
— Astrakhan. Southern cosmopolitan city with rich natural resources.
— Oleg Shein. Deputy of the Regional Duma of the Astrakhan region, ex-deputy of the State Duma of three convocations and a well-known politician.
- Townspeople. Tolerant and seasoned. To awaken any activity, you need to really touch people's nerves.
- Hunger strike. Doctors say that a healthy person can fast for no more than eight weeks, but in history there are many cases where people went without food for longer, but at the same time, some people died of hunger in a shorter period of time.
The confrontation between honest citizens and those others who do not want to investigate anything is reaching a new “intellectual” level in Astrakhan. The lawn where Shein's support group's mattresses lay during the day and where they planned to set up a tent camp was flooded by a tank with tons of hot water. This all happens because officials are constrained in their public speeches and they have no choice but to send such signals to the townspeople. I understand this signal as follows: guys, we are preparing Bolotnaya Square for you, get ready to defend your votes. Another interesting fact is that they poured not cold, but hot water, which also probably has its own hidden bureaucratic meaning, which we have yet to understand.
Where are the people?
It turns out that the capital’s troops are forced to come to fight for justice and legality, and tens of thousands of Astrakhan residents who voted for Shein don’t care about their candidate and their votes? I don't want to believe it.
200-300 people taking to the streets for Shein is still not enough to influence the authorities.
To be honest, I was not at all surprised by the passivity of the Astrakhan people. Firstly, the southern mentality. And secondly, there are a lot of state employees and Gazprom employees who are dependent on the authorities and are afraid to go to a rally of their own free will. And if it’s not kind, then please. On April 10, the administration urgently and forcibly convened an anti-Shein rally consisting of state employees, which once again showed its clumsiness and inadequacy of the situation.
Shein has always been a truly people's deputy, and the implementation of certain scenarios for the development of events directly depends on the activity of the townspeople. If everyone continues to stay at home or doesn’t come up with other forms of participation, there is practically no chance of an objective investigation of violations or re-elections.
The health and life of Shein and his associates is exclusively in the hands of Astrakhan residents, and not in the hands of Putin or Zhilkin. Putin has already made a statement: “Shein started a hunger strike, but has not gone to court until now. To be honest, it’s even a little strange.” This is despite the fact that Shein has been trying for a month to get recordings from web cameras to file a lawsuit. At a meeting with Ponomarev and Gudkov, Zhilkin speaks about possible re-elections, and then publicly declares the fairness of the past elections and dismisses the possibility of re-elections. Mayor Stolyarov refused to resign for the sake of re-election. Shein, in principle, did not ask for re-elections; he wants fair trials, which should take place publicly.
Navalny shouting on the streets of Astrakhan through a megaphone “We are the power here!” on the news on Channel One is also Shein’s achievement. At the same time, the Astrakhan media remain stubbornly silent, despite the fact that word of mouth works well and many already know about the situation.
Thanks to Shein’s persistence and the support of Sergei Mironov, it was possible to ensure that Rostelecom had just given away a hard drive with recordings from web cameras (which had previously allegedly disappeared). An application to the Court is about to be filed. To do this, on the night of April 12, Mironov and Levichev flew to Astrakhan.
Scenario "Re-election"
Option one. In order not to provoke proceedings in each area and not wash dirty linen in public, Stolyarov may still be put under pressure from all sides and he will resign. Then early elections will be called, most likely in the fall, and the duties of mayor will be performed by the deputy chairman of the City Duma. In this case, I don’t think that Stolyarov will run again, but Shein certainly will. But United Russia will need to decide on its candidate. This option can be used if there is a smell of falsification and there is a danger of opening a system of falsifications with a way out somewhere to the top, and the townspeople begin to behave more actively.
Option two. After processing all the video recordings, Shein goes to court, and it overturns the election results on the grounds that the violations do not allow the true will of the voters to be revealed. To do this, it is necessary to cancel elections in approximately 30 polling stations. This option is more resonant, since the materials will be examined in court, but for now this option is also unlikely.
Scenario “No re-elections”
Option three. Shein goes to court. The court decides on a recount of votes. It is likely that the results will be clarified, but it is not a fact that in the end there will be more than 60 thousand votes necessary for Oleg Shein to win. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the packages with ballots are now in the possession of the interested parties: the election commission and the administration. This is a very real option.
Option four. The townspeople will remain silent. The situation will not go beyond sluggish legal proceedings, there will be no recount, violations will not be confirmed, and Shein’s demands will be denied. This is also a very real option.
How Oleg Shein will behave in a given situation is known only to himself. Strength is running out every day, and the nerve of the moment will push you to take some steps.
People are now on hunger strike for fair elections not only in Astrakhan, but also in the Rozinsky urban settlement of the Korkinsky district of the Chelyabinsk region. They are starving right in the administration building. Is it really time for such extreme measures?
I wish Oleg Vasilyevich and all his associates strength. I admire their resilience and integrity!
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