Russian anti-war politician says Kremlin is bent on stopping his election run

MOSCOW, July 14 - An anti-war Russian politician who wants to run for parliament has accused the authorities of trying to sabotage his campaign, after he was designated a "foreign agent" and questioned by police.

Boris Nadezhdin, who was barred from standing against Vladimir Putin in a presidential election in 2024, is trying to gather enough supporters' signatures to qualify as a candidate for election to parliament's lower house, the Duma, in September.

Last Friday, he was listed as a foreign agent—a term with connotations of spying that Moscow applies to people it views as engaged in anti-Russian activities. On Monday, police detained him for questioning about a social media post containing a link to allegedly "extremist" content.

Nadezhdin told Reuters on Monday evening that the authorities were acting to prevent him from campaigning and airing critical views on topics such as internet restrictions, gasoline shortages, and the war in Ukraine.

"They wanted to ensure that, God forbid, Nadezhdin didn't end up in the Duma doing the same thing he’s been doing all along: saying the war must stop, that Russia needs normal development and a return to a normal human life, rather than what’s happening now," he said.

"The goal is simple: take me out of the game, prevent me from getting into the State Duma, and stop me from running a campaign—for peace, for freedom, and for things like having the internet and gasoline, at the end of the day."

In a video published this week, Nadezhdin called for an end to what he described as a "completely senseless fratricidal war", urging a freeze of the conflict along the current front lines.

CAMPAIGN OFFERS A WINDOW FOR CRITICISM

Speaking out on such sensitive issues is risky in Russia, where the Kremlin has intensified a crackdown on dissent during the 4-1/2 years of the war in Ukraine.

Although the dominant pro-Putin United Russia party is expected to win comfortably, the electoral campaign potentially provides more cover than usual for the marginalised opposition to speak out.

The liberal Yabloko party, which wants a ceasefire, has fielded hundreds of candidates for the Duma, though it is unlikely to win seats. Last month, its deputy chairman, Maxim Kruglov, was jailed for seven years, convicted of spreading falsehoods about the Russian military.

Nadezhdin, 63, is due to appear in court on Friday for a hearing regarding the alleged link to extremist content—a claim he dismissed as "ridiculous".

He said that, due to his heart condition, even a short prison sentence could put his life at risk.

But he wrote on Telegram on Tuesday: "We're hanging in there, we're not losing heart!" REUTERS