“I lack the charisma of Alexei Navalny or Boris Nemtsov. You can’t turn me into Che Guevara, no matter how hard you try. I have no illusions and don’t pretend to be a hero, God forbid. But it just so happened…” says Boris Nadezhdin, a 60-year-old former physicist entrenched in Russian politics for the past 30 years, mostly in deputy or aide roles, often escaping public notice.
These unremarkable Everyman qualities, coupled with a history of election losses, likely convinced the Kremlin to permit his marginal role in the presidential poll on March 15th-17th. Vladimir Putin is poised to secure a new term, but authorities have allowed Mr Nadezhdin to gather enough signatures for ballot inclusion.
However, over the past few weeks, hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens have lined up to sign for Mr Nadezhdin. The reason is a line in his manifesto declaring Mr Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine a “fatal mistake.” With his unassuming appearance, Mr Nadezhdin embodies the peaceful and ordinary life disrupted by the military operation Russians are forbidden to label as a war.
Queuing to provide a signature for a man named “hope” in Russian, without immediate arrest risk, appears appealing to many disgruntled Russians. Their smallest protests face harsh dispersal, and they risk imprisonment for displaying pacifist slogans or supporting Ukraine.
Within days, Mr Nadezhdin amassed over 200,000 signatures, twice the 100,000 needed. While far from a free and fair election, the images of people queuing for hours to support his candidacy form a significant political event. “I saw that there are people around me who think the same way as I do,” wrote one supporter to Mr Nadezhdin.
Putin’s dictatorship thrives on isolating regime opponents. “My goal was to show to the whole world and to people themselves that they are not alone. I’ve achieved this goal 100%,” said Mr Nadezhdin. The queues have united people with diverse political views but a shared anti-war sentiment, offering a chance to express their numbers. Musicians, bloggers, and influencers with large audiences recorded videos of the lengthy queues. Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei Navalny’s wife, and political prisoners have supported Mr Nadezhdin’s courageous candidacy. The Kremlin may have considered Mr Nadezhdin a controlled experiment, but it appears to have exceeded control. The next episode will reveal whether he is allowed to stand or faces invented obstacles.