Politician Boris Nadezhdin announced that he is ending his signature-gathering campaign to run in the State Duma elections. The signatures already collected, he said, will not be submitted to the election commission.
Nadezhdin said he made the decision because of growing pressure in recent weeks. He stated that after being labeled a “foreign agent” and facing an administrative case, he was being silenced, pushed out of politics, and subjected to serious pressure. According to him, his ability to engage legally in opposition politics in Russia has now been exhausted, though he said he hopes this is temporary.
Nadezhdin said he was not prepared to put at risk the people who supported him and took part in the campaign, including his family, his campaign team, signature collectors, and supporters.
The money raised during the campaign, he said, will be used to pay staff members at his headquarters and the people collecting signatures. He also thanked those who had backed him.
“As long as there are people like you in Russia, hope will never be lost. Now I need to think about how to live дальше. I hope I remain alive and free,” he added.
Nadezhdin filed documents to take part in the election as an independent candidate in mid-June. Less than a month later, Russia’s Justice Ministry designated him a “foreign agent.” He was then detained by police, and later an administrative case was opened against him under the article on displaying “extremist symbols” because of a photograph of Alexei Navalny. He was subsequently fined 1,000 rubles. In addition, he was barred from leaving Russia.
According to Meduza, the pressure on Nadezhdin came from security services seeking to prevent him from taking part in the State Duma elections.