This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/world/europe/for-kremlin-critic-out-of-jail-and-into-politics.html
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Kremlin Critic Goes From Jail to Trail | Kremlin Critic Goes From Jail to Trail |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| MOSCOW — A handful of people hovered curiously around a drab plaza in Tyoply Stan, a neighborhood on the southern edge of Moscow, attracted by volunteers handing out leaflets and a makeshift platform affixed with banners showing a man who despite global renown remains largely unfamiliar here. | MOSCOW — A handful of people hovered curiously around a drab plaza in Tyoply Stan, a neighborhood on the southern edge of Moscow, attracted by volunteers handing out leaflets and a makeshift platform affixed with banners showing a man who despite global renown remains largely unfamiliar here. |
| Then the man himself appeared: Aleksei A. Navalny, the lawyer turned blogger. Only three weeks after his conviction on charges of embezzlement, followed by his surprising release from jail pending appeal, he has returned to a quixotic campaign to challenge the political system erected by President Vladimir V. Putin, this time as a candidate for elected office. | Then the man himself appeared: Aleksei A. Navalny, the lawyer turned blogger. Only three weeks after his conviction on charges of embezzlement, followed by his surprising release from jail pending appeal, he has returned to a quixotic campaign to challenge the political system erected by President Vladimir V. Putin, this time as a candidate for elected office. |
| Wearing jeans and a polo shirt, he strode across the square and told the crowd his name and age — 37 — compelled to introduce himself to those who knew him only as a digital phenomenon railing against corruption. He spoke about his education, his wife, their children and the apartment in Moscow where he has lived for the last 17 years. He then asked them to go the polls on Sept. 8 and elect him the city’s mayor. | Wearing jeans and a polo shirt, he strode across the square and told the crowd his name and age — 37 — compelled to introduce himself to those who knew him only as a digital phenomenon railing against corruption. He spoke about his education, his wife, their children and the apartment in Moscow where he has lived for the last 17 years. He then asked them to go the polls on Sept. 8 and elect him the city’s mayor. |
| His campaign slogan, printed on fliers and placards mushrooming around the city, is an exhortation that underscores the stakes, as well as a broader ambition. | His campaign slogan, printed on fliers and placards mushrooming around the city, is an exhortation that underscores the stakes, as well as a broader ambition. |
| “Change Russia,” it says. “Start with Moscow.” | “Change Russia,” it says. “Start with Moscow.” |
| Even as some suspect a Kremlin ploy to create the appearance of electoral competition, Mr. Navalny’s campaign has now, unexpectedly, emerged as the most significant test for the Kremlin since Mr. Putin returned to the presidency last year amid a wave of protests against Russia’s authoritarianism and endemic corruption. Those protests were led in part by Mr. Navalny, who now hopes to harness a latent opposition that Mr. Putin has since successfully suppressed — and, perhaps, to ensure his own freedom. | Even as some suspect a Kremlin ploy to create the appearance of electoral competition, Mr. Navalny’s campaign has now, unexpectedly, emerged as the most significant test for the Kremlin since Mr. Putin returned to the presidency last year amid a wave of protests against Russia’s authoritarianism and endemic corruption. Those protests were led in part by Mr. Navalny, who now hopes to harness a latent opposition that Mr. Putin has since successfully suppressed — and, perhaps, to ensure his own freedom. |
| Although victory seems improbable, Mr. Navalny’s campaign has injected drama into a moribund political system that has stripped elections of competition and thus suspense. | Although victory seems improbable, Mr. Navalny’s campaign has injected drama into a moribund political system that has stripped elections of competition and thus suspense. |
| For the first time in years, no one knows exactly what will happen — whether as a political novice he can overcome apathy and win a significant number of votes, whether the outcome will provoke more protests, even whether he will remain a free man until election day. | For the first time in years, no one knows exactly what will happen — whether as a political novice he can overcome apathy and win a significant number of votes, whether the outcome will provoke more protests, even whether he will remain a free man until election day. |
| “We don’t know anything right now,” his campaign manager, Leonid M. Volkov, said of the legal uncertainty. Mr. Navalny was officially registered as a candidate only days before his conviction, which if upheld, will bar him from taking office. “We are working like there are going to be elections on Sept. 8 with Navalny on the ballot, and that he’s going to win.” | “We don’t know anything right now,” his campaign manager, Leonid M. Volkov, said of the legal uncertainty. Mr. Navalny was officially registered as a candidate only days before his conviction, which if upheld, will bar him from taking office. “We are working like there are going to be elections on Sept. 8 with Navalny on the ballot, and that he’s going to win.” |
| The mayoral vote is the city’s first in a decade. In 2004 Mr. Putin abolished elections for the leaders of the country’s 83 federal regions, which include the city of Moscow, as part of his consolidation of power. They were restored last year in part to quell popular disaffection over irregularities in parliamentary elections in 2011. | The mayoral vote is the city’s first in a decade. In 2004 Mr. Putin abolished elections for the leaders of the country’s 83 federal regions, which include the city of Moscow, as part of his consolidation of power. They were restored last year in part to quell popular disaffection over irregularities in parliamentary elections in 2011. |
| The mere fact of Mr. Navalny’s candidacy has inspired theories of furtive machinations. Many analysts assume that he was freed after a night in jail to lend legitimacy to what is expected to be an easy victory for the incumbent mayor, Sergei S. Sobyanin. | The mere fact of Mr. Navalny’s candidacy has inspired theories of furtive machinations. Many analysts assume that he was freed after a night in jail to lend legitimacy to what is expected to be an easy victory for the incumbent mayor, Sergei S. Sobyanin. |
| Such is the cynicism here that analysts argue a poor showing by Mr. Navalny would do more to discredit him than the conviction alone, making it easier for the Kremlin to remove him from public life. | Such is the cynicism here that analysts argue a poor showing by Mr. Navalny would do more to discredit him than the conviction alone, making it easier for the Kremlin to remove him from public life. |
| The mayoralty is arguably the country’s second-most prominent office, and was for years the personal fief of Yuri M. Luzhkov. Its independence has been eroding for years, though, and suffered a major blow in 2010 when Mr. Luzhkov was fired by Dmitri A. Medvedev, Mr. Putin’s predecessor as president. Mr. Medvedev than appointed Mr. Sobyanin, a technocrat who previously served as the elected governor of the Tyumen region in Siberia, as deputy prime minister and then as chief of the presidential administration. | |
| To Mr. Navalny, Mr. Sobyanin embodies an ossified system dominated by the Kremlin that is motivated by profit and self-preservation and out of touch with ordinary people. As he stumps around the city, holding three to five meetings a day with voters, Mr. Navalny emphasizes his roots in Moscow, a not-so-subtle contrast to Mr. Sobyanin’s upbringing in Siberia. | To Mr. Navalny, Mr. Sobyanin embodies an ossified system dominated by the Kremlin that is motivated by profit and self-preservation and out of touch with ordinary people. As he stumps around the city, holding three to five meetings a day with voters, Mr. Navalny emphasizes his roots in Moscow, a not-so-subtle contrast to Mr. Sobyanin’s upbringing in Siberia. |
| “I am the most ordinary Muscovite,” he said at Tyoply Stan in a common refrain, adding that he experiences firsthand the shortcomings in transportation, housing, education and health care. His remarks often verge on populism, particularly on the topics of crime and migrant workers, reflecting a sentiment that has unnerved some of the country’s liberals. As on his blog, he fulminates against corruption, accusing officials at all levels of siphoning away revenues that could improve services. | “I am the most ordinary Muscovite,” he said at Tyoply Stan in a common refrain, adding that he experiences firsthand the shortcomings in transportation, housing, education and health care. His remarks often verge on populism, particularly on the topics of crime and migrant workers, reflecting a sentiment that has unnerved some of the country’s liberals. As on his blog, he fulminates against corruption, accusing officials at all levels of siphoning away revenues that could improve services. |
| “I see the colossal disparity, the inequality, between the massive Moscow budget — 1.6 trillion rubles, second only to New York City, one of the richest cities in the world — and the actual quality of life,” he said at another campaign stop, referring to an amount equivalent to nearly $49 billion. “For that money, Muscovites can afford to buy a really great quality of life.” | “I see the colossal disparity, the inequality, between the massive Moscow budget — 1.6 trillion rubles, second only to New York City, one of the richest cities in the world — and the actual quality of life,” he said at another campaign stop, referring to an amount equivalent to nearly $49 billion. “For that money, Muscovites can afford to buy a really great quality of life.” |
| There are four other challengers in the race, including candidates representing the Communists, the nationalist Liberal Democrats and the liberal Yabloko, parties that have continued to run in and lose elections under Mr. Putin. All lack the resources and vital access to state television that Mr. Sobyanin enjoys. | There are four other challengers in the race, including candidates representing the Communists, the nationalist Liberal Democrats and the liberal Yabloko, parties that have continued to run in and lose elections under Mr. Putin. All lack the resources and vital access to state television that Mr. Sobyanin enjoys. |
| Even the timing of the vote was Mr. Sobyanin’s. It was not scheduled until 2015, but Mr. Sobyanin nominally resigned in June with Mr. Putin’s permission and moved up the election, leaving little time for opposition to coalesce. | Even the timing of the vote was Mr. Sobyanin’s. It was not scheduled until 2015, but Mr. Sobyanin nominally resigned in June with Mr. Putin’s permission and moved up the election, leaving little time for opposition to coalesce. |
| Mr. Sobyanin’s campaign manager, Lyudmila I. Shvetsova, said that the mayor, who himself last ran for office in 2001, was committed to holding a fair election, acknowledging the criticisms leveled against previous balloting. “He did not want to exclude Navalny from the race,” she said. “If Navalny had been excluded, the vote itself would not reflect the situation in the city.” | Mr. Sobyanin’s campaign manager, Lyudmila I. Shvetsova, said that the mayor, who himself last ran for office in 2001, was committed to holding a fair election, acknowledging the criticisms leveled against previous balloting. “He did not want to exclude Navalny from the race,” she said. “If Navalny had been excluded, the vote itself would not reflect the situation in the city.” |
| Mr. Navalny’s campaign, by necessity, has the feel of a grass-roots insurgency. He began holding his rallies without advance notice to the news media to avoid drawing attention that might intimidate prospective voters. So far the authorities have not interfered, though police officers with automatic rifles appeared ominously at one event. | Mr. Navalny’s campaign, by necessity, has the feel of a grass-roots insurgency. He began holding his rallies without advance notice to the news media to avoid drawing attention that might intimidate prospective voters. So far the authorities have not interfered, though police officers with automatic rifles appeared ominously at one event. |
| He has recruited volunteers who have set up booths they call “cubes” to distribute leaflets and unfurl banners with Mr. Navalny’s name in public spaces, including a bridge over the Moscow River. | He has recruited volunteers who have set up booths they call “cubes” to distribute leaflets and unfurl banners with Mr. Navalny’s name in public spaces, including a bridge over the Moscow River. |
| “To talk about the field campaign’s effectiveness or ineffectiveness doesn’t make sense in this case,” the campaign’s press secretary, Anna A. Veduta, said, “because we don’t have alternatives.” | “To talk about the field campaign’s effectiveness or ineffectiveness doesn’t make sense in this case,” the campaign’s press secretary, Anna A. Veduta, said, “because we don’t have alternatives.” |
| Although polls have shown Mr. Sobyanin with a comfortable lead, Mr. Navalny’s support appears to be rising beyond his core cadre of educated, Internet-savvy supporters. | Although polls have shown Mr. Sobyanin with a comfortable lead, Mr. Navalny’s support appears to be rising beyond his core cadre of educated, Internet-savvy supporters. |
| “This is, of course, the first time in Moscow that a candidate for mayor has met with the public in such close conditions,” said Anna Fedotovna, a retired engineer who attended one of his speeches. “For all these years they gathered in some House of Culture and brought the people the organizers wanted there.” | “This is, of course, the first time in Moscow that a candidate for mayor has met with the public in such close conditions,” said Anna Fedotovna, a retired engineer who attended one of his speeches. “For all these years they gathered in some House of Culture and brought the people the organizers wanted there.” |
| Political campaigns here have become so lifeless that Mr. Navalny’s is all the more striking. And it is already having an impact: After his booths appeared, Mr. Sobyanin’s supporters began setting up their own, a nod to retail politics that most Kremlin-endorsed candidates have long eschewed as unnecessary. | Political campaigns here have become so lifeless that Mr. Navalny’s is all the more striking. And it is already having an impact: After his booths appeared, Mr. Sobyanin’s supporters began setting up their own, a nod to retail politics that most Kremlin-endorsed candidates have long eschewed as unnecessary. |
| “It’s not a fair election, but somehow it is freer now,” said Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion and a critic of Mr. Putin who similarly tried to build support for the political opposition. Mr. Navalny, he added, represents a new generation that has the potential to widen the cracks in Mr. Putin’s dominance and pose a real challenge. “He’s in the game now.” | “It’s not a fair election, but somehow it is freer now,” said Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion and a critic of Mr. Putin who similarly tried to build support for the political opposition. Mr. Navalny, he added, represents a new generation that has the potential to widen the cracks in Mr. Putin’s dominance and pose a real challenge. “He’s in the game now.” |
Andrew Roth and Noah Sneider contributed reporting. |