Russian pacifists try to challenge Putin in elections tailored by the Kremlin

MoscowThe Russian pacifist opposition is debating between boycotting, protesting, and pragmatism in the legislative elections that end this Sunday and in which no one doubts the victory of Vladimir Putin's party. Voters opposed to the war have seen how the authorities removed the only anti-war formation, Yabloko, and how all candidates potentially dangerous to the regime were disqualified. In addition to the usual strategies to coerce public workers into marking the official list –the “administrative mobilization”– and to prevent the presence of independent observers, this time the Kremlin has generalized electronic voting, a system that analysts denounce as facilitating the manipulation of results.

In 2021, online voting was only operational in seven Russian territories, including the capital. At that time, several opposition candidates were leading the count until the digital vote from Moscow was uploaded and overturned the scrutiny in favor of the United Russia candidates. In these elections, it will be available in 33 regions and, in order to incentivize it even further, the administration is raffling off vouchers exchangeable for transport tickets or purchases in cafes and supermarkets among those who vote telematically. Citizens can earn the equivalent of 500 euros.

Furthermore, as analyst Dan Storyev explains to ARA, the elections “are not only manipulated through obscene counts, but by filtering who can and cannot participate”. The Russian system works in such a way that 225 parliamentarians are chosen through closed party lists and 225 more in single-member candidacies in each of the 225 electoral districts. With the Yabloko list eliminated, the justice system has been especially active in also disqualifying the party's individual candidates. 17% have been removed and others have withdrawn after receiving death threats.

The candidates of the Communist Party (CPRF) have also suffered more than usual, a fact that shows that United Russia can come to see them as a threat despite being part of the tolerated opposition. A court has banned their most popular candidate, Nikolai Bondarenko, who is very critical of the government's policies. Furthermore, the communists have been victims of another perverse trick: the so-called "spoiler parties," which aim to confuse voters, split the vote, and do the dirty work for United Russia in single-member districts where the result is most contested. Thus, the ghost party Communists of Russia (CR) presents candidates with surnames very similar to those of the Communist Party. For example, in Moscow, Ivan Uliantchenko (CPRF) appears on the ballot along with Sergei Ulianov (CR); in the Altai Republic, Konstantin Kovalev (CPRF) competes against Grigori Kovalev (CR); or in Omsk, Boris Markov (CPRF) faces Dmitri Markov (CR).

The "smart vote"

The strength of the Communist Party in the regions makes it attractive to some pacifist opponents, even though the leadership's official position is one of militant support for the war. Exiled activists like Yulia Navalnaya bet on the “smart vote,” that is, to mark on the ballot the name that has the best chance of defeating the Kremlin's candidate. Also from exile, it is defended by Dmitri Kissiev, a former collaborator of Boris Nadezhdin, the last anti-war candidate who tried to challenge Putin in the 2024 presidential elections and who has now had to flee. In statements to ARA, Kissiev maintains the need to weaken United Russia and to “send a signal to society and the authorities that there are people in Russia who do not support their policy”.

The void vote as a pacifist option

At the same time, this may involve voting for pro-war candidates in constituencies where Yabloko is fielding pacifist politicians. Be that as it may, the liberal organization claims they have already achieved their goal. Yabloko spokesperson, Igor Yakovlev, highlights in this newspaper that now “it can no longer be claimed that there are no supporters of peace in Russia or that they are an insignificant minority”. The party has given instructions to its supporters to opt for a spoiled vote. They do not want the ballot to be left blank for fear that someone might fill it in, but they are also not inclined to vote for the other parties because “they do not differ from each other in any way and they support the war”. Kissiev, on the other hand, accuses them of having “lost credibility among those who had trusted them” and of pushing them to waste their vote.

Another protest initiative is what is known as “noon against the war”. Its promoter, Ilya Yashin, a former collaborator of Navalny and now also in exile, encourages opposition citizens to form long queues at polling stations this Sunday at noon because the police cannot prevent them from doing so. Yabloko, however, rejects it because they consider it “a kind of happening”, at a “too serious” moment for this type of staging.

Meanwhile, Storyev believes that it is precisely this performative dimension that gives it value. “If elections are a spectacle, a great theatrical performance, the most viable form of opposition is also spectacular”, he concludes.