Nadezhdin has also achieved a seemingly impossible feat in Russian politics — winning the support of many prominent Russian opposition figures whose infighting has long prevented a united front against the Kremlin. This includes supporters of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Despite claims by Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov that Nadezhda is not a rival to the Russian president, the Kremlin appears to have been surprised by the alliance and the apparent increase in public support for Nadezhda.
Apparently, this came as a surprise to Nadezhda herself, who told the Russian press that it was an indication of her popularity. “Demand for peace and changes” in the country.
“It’s a very strange election because there is no real choice,” Nadezhdin told NBC News in an interview in Moscow in Decembershortly after announcing his candidacy, he said he wanted to challenge Putin for undermining Russia’s democratic institutions, leading the country toward greater authoritarianism.
“I’m ready for anything,” he said.
Elections in Russia are often fraught with irregularities and allegations of fraud. It is extremely difficult for competitors to get their name on the ballot at any level. Critics say the Russian elections are little more than rigged and that Putin is all but guaranteed to win in March.
Nadejd had to collect 100,000 signatures from all over Russia by the end of January in order to register her candidacy with the Russian Electoral Commission.
The urgency of gathering the required signatures on short notice saw Russians across the country and foreigners queuing outside his office, seeing it as the only way to show Moscow support for a peaceful anti-war message and legal crackdown on dissent.
Protests and public demonstrations criticizing the war led to arrests and detentions, making it almost impossible to protest the war without risking one’s freedom. The Kremlin insists that there are few Russians who do not support the war and that the majority of society is centered around Putin.