The

Russian opposition Opposition to the government of President Vladimir Putin in Russia can be divided between the parliamentary opposition parties in the State Duma and the various non-systemic opposition organizations. While the former are largely viewed as bei ...

figure and anti-corruption activist

Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolievich Navalny ( rus, links=no, Алексей Анатольевич Навальный, , ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ nɐˈvalʲnɨj; born 4 June 1976) is a Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, Russian opposition ...

announced his intention to run for

President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

in the 2018 election on 13 December 2016. The primary themes of his campaign have been focusing on domestic issues, including combating

corruption in Russia Corruption is perceived as a significant problem in Russia, impacting various aspects of life, including the economy, business, public administration, law enforcement, healthcare, and education. The phenomenon of corruption is strongly establish ...

and improving the

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

. Commentators have noted that Navalny's campaign is unprecedented in modern Russia as politicians usually do not start campaigning until a few months before the election. Navalny began openly campaigning for the presidency before the official registration for the elections occurred in spite of court proceedings against him in a fraud case, which could bar him from running since the Russian election legislation deprives certain criminals of eligibility. In February 2017, a district court in Kirov upheld his suspended sentence despite the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

siding with Navalny. In May, the deputy chief of the

Central Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

commented that Navalny will not be allowed to run. Navalny and his staff said that they will appeal to the ECHR and will continue campaigning to give the government no choice but to accept his candidacy.Kremlin critic Navalny can't run for presidency - election official

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

. Published 3 May 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2017. He officially submitted his documents for registration as a candidate on December 24, 2017, and was rejected by the Central Election Commission the following day due to his conviction. Later that same day, December 25, Navalny called on his supporters to boycott the election in response.

Background

Alexei Navalny announced his intention to run for

on 13 December 2016 and since then has been traveling to cities throughout Russia to meet with supporters and open regional offices. He had first spoken about doing so in April 2013, and in September of that year, he had taken part in the Moscow mayoral election, in which he got 27% of the vote. Before that, he was one of the main leaders of the

2011 protests Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''El ...

after the

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. As noted by ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' and the former

Russian presidential administration The Presidential Executive Office of Russia or the Presidential Administration of Russia ( rus, Администрация Президента Российской Федерации, Administratsiya Prezidenta Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the ex ...

adviser

Gleb Pavlovsky Gleb Olegovich Pavlovsky (russian: Глеб Оле́гович Павло́вский; born 5 March 1951) is a Russian political scientist who also describes himself as a "political technologist". During the Soviet era, he was prosecuted as a d ...

, the campaign by Navalny is unprecedented in modern Russia as most candidates do not start campaigning until a few months before the election. His chief of staff Leonid Volkov stated that a part of the reason they started a year early was to raise support and to give the

Russian government The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russia ...

no choice but to let Navalny take part in the election in spite of ruling regarding the Kirovles case.Leonid Volkov's statement
— via Facebook. Posted 3 May 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2017. The primary focus of Navalny's campaign is combating the

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

within the current government under

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

and

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...

.Bennetts, Marc (17 April 2017)
Alexei Navalny: Is Russia's Anti-Corruption Crusader Vladimir Putin's Kryptonite?
''

''. Retrieved 30 April 2017. In mid-April 2017, Navalny was endorsed by the exiled oligarch

Mikhail Khodorkovsky Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (russian: link=no, Михаил Борисович Ходорковский, ; born 26 June 1963), sometimes known by his initials MBK, is an exiled Russian businessman and opposition activist, now residing in L ...

and the liberal

People's Freedom Party People's Freedom Party may mean one of the following: * People's Freedom Party (Russia) * People's Freedom Party "For Russia without Lawlessness and Corruption" * Constitutional Democratic Party, also called the People's Freedom Party * Constituti ...

leader

Mikhail Kasyanov Mikhail Mikhailovich Kasyanov ( rus, link=no, Михаи́л Миха́йлович Касья́нов, , mʲɪxɐˈil mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kɐˈsʲjanəf; born 8 December 1957) is a Russian politician who served as Prime Minister of Russia fr ...

as an alternative to incumbent President

Legal case

Concerns about Navalny's participation in the elections include the "Kirovles case", when in 2009, according to investigators, Navalny ordered a local businessman to create an intermediary company then persuaded the administration of the local

Kirov Oblast Kirov Oblast (russian: Ки́ровская о́бласть, ''Kirovskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is the city of Kirov. Population: 1,341,312 ( 2010 Census). Geography Na ...

corporation Kirovles to sign a deal with the new company on unfavorable terms. Kirovles allegedly lost millions of dollars while the middleman company made a profit. The investigation lasted until 2013 at which point he was given a five-year prison sentence, which was suspended with a 500,000

ruble The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ''rub ...

fine. In November 2016 the

Russian Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (russian: links=no, Верховный суд Российской Федерации, Verkhovny sud Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is a court within the judiciary of Russia and the court of last resort in R ...

annulled the sentence and returned the case to the Leninsky District court in the city of Kirov for a retrial. In February 2017, the district court ruled to uphold Navalny's sentence despite pressure from the

, which sided with Navalny. The issue may block Navalny from participating in the elections as Russian law does not allow criminal offenders to run for office, and after the retrial both

Vyacheslav Volodin Vyacheslav Viktorovich Volodin (russian: Вячеслав Викторович Володин; born 4 February 1964) is a Russian politician who currently serves as the 10th Chairman of the State Duma (since 5 October 2016). He is a former ai ...

, speaker of the

State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...

, and Medvedev's spokesman

Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov ( rus, Дмитрий Сергеевич Песков, p=pʲɪˈskof; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat and the press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Navalny argued that the

Constitution of the Russian Federation The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993. Russia's constitution came into force on 25 December 1993, at the moment of its official publication, and abolished the Soviet system of gov ...

only prevents those who are in prison and those who are legally unfit from taking part in elections and believes that he is still legally able to run.Grobman, Ekaterina (21 March 2017)
How Russia is preparing for the 2018 presidential elections
Russia Direct. Retrieved 2 May 2017. In February he stated "It says clearly in the constitution that only those who are in prison are banned. So I am not banned. For now."Rainsford, Sarah (9 February 2017)
Alexei Navalny: Russian opposition leader vows to continue fight

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

. Retrieved 2 May 2017. He also said that "What we have just seen is a telegram of sorts from the Kremlin, saying that they consider me, my team and people whose views I represent too dangerous to be allowed into the election campaign." Navalny and his supporters also accuse it of being a political case, though the Russian government denies it. Leonid Volkov, his chief of staff, said that the presidential campaign will continue and that they will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.Yegorov, Oleg (3 May 2017)
Russia's opposition figure ‘cannot run for president’

Russia Beyond the Headlines ''Russia Beyond'' (formerly ''Russia Beyond The Headlines'') is a Russian multilingual project operated by TV-Novosti (formerly Russia Today), founded by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. History ''Russia Beyond The Headlines'' was ...

. Published 3 May 2017. The cases are widely believed to be fabricated in retaliation for his political activity. The Memorial Human Rights Center recognized Navalny as a

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

Campaigning

Since opening his first campaign office in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

in February 2017, Navalny plans to open at least forty offices across the country by the end of May, later increasing the number to over seventy. He has been traveling to different cities rather than focus on a few larger ones, unlike many other Russian politicians. In early April, his chief of staff Leonid Volkov stated that Navalny will continue his campaign despite the Leninsky District court upholding his five-year sentence for the Kirovles fraud case, and that Navalny intends to appeal against the ban from running.Nataliya Vasileyevna and Vladimir Isachenkov (8 February 2017)
Court bars Russian opposition leader from presidential race

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

. Retrieved 2 May 2017. He personally visited many of the locations for the opening ceremonies of the local campaign offices where he met with and spoke to his supporters. In April 2017, it was reported that Navalny's campaign staff collected more than 300,000 signatures from people across 40 regions of Russia electronically. More than 75,000 people signed up to volunteer for his campaign and nearly $700,000 has been donated.

March 26 protest

In March 2017, the

Anti-Corruption Foundation The Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF or FBK; russian: Фонд борьбы с коррупцией (ФБК), Fond borby s korruptsiyey (FBK), Foundation for combating corruption) is a non-profit organization established in 2011 by Russian opposit ...

led by Navalny published a documentary video on YouTube titled ''

He Is Not Dimon to You ''He Is Not Dimon to You'' or ''Don't Call Him Dimon'' (russian: Он вам не Димон, translit=On vam ne Dimon) is a 2017 Russian documentary film detailing alleged corruption by Dmitry Medvedev who was Prime Minister of Russia at the t ...

'', in which he stated that Prime Minister

possessed large properties which he obtained with bribes from oligarchs and bank loans through non-governmental organizations. The video gained tens of millions of views, but the Medvedev government ignored it and did not make any response. As a result, Navalny called for mass rallies on March 26 to protest against this. Tens of thousands of people reportedly took part in the protests on that day, with rallies being held in dozens of cities across Russia (including

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and

), using social media to organize and reportedly including large numbers of young people. After the protests, Medvedev's approval rating fell and the number of people stating in polls that they would vote for Navalny rose. Navalny was jailed for several days afterwards for disobeying orders from the police,Russia jails protests leader Alexei Navalny for 15 days

. Published 27 March 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2017. along with somewhere between five hundred to one thousand other demonstrators. He called for more demonstrations to take place on June 12, which is the national holiday

Russia Day Russia Day (russian: links=no, День России, ) called Day of adoption of the declaration of state sovereignty of RSFSR (russian: links=no, День принятия Декларации о государственном суверен� ...

Attacks on Navalny and others

There have been several instances of sabotage by unknown assailants that Alexei Navalny describes as being pro-Putin activists. In April 2017 he was splashed with the alcoholic solution of brilliant green twice, on one occasion having no major effect while on the second occasion one of his eyes was damaged by chemicals, causing some loss of vision. The

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

have not captured the attacker although an investigation was opened. Acts of sabotage have taken place against other members of the campaign as well. In March, in the city of

Tomsk Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a not ...

, the doors to the apartments of several local campaign coordinators were glued shut with inflatable foam, while their cars were also vandalized. In the middle of the opening speech being given by Navalny police arrived and told everyone to evacuate the building due to a bomb threat.Ragozin, Leonid (27 March 2017)
Inside Alexei Navalny’s Long-Shot Bid to Beat Putin

Bloomburg Bloomburg is a town in Cass County, Texas, United States. Bloomburg is east of Atlanta, Texas, and is home to the Cullen Baker Country Fair, held every year on the first Saturday in November. Despite it being named after an outlaw named Cullen B ...

. Retrieved 2 May 2017.

After the court ruling

Navalny and his team stated on 3 May 2017 that they will be continuing their campaign despite the regional court in Kirov upheld his sentence and potentially barring him from taking part in the election, with the intention of building up support and making the Russian government allow him to participate. On 23 June 2017, the

stated that Navalny can not run for the presidency because of his past conviction. Navalny was detained on 12 June 2017 prior to an unauthorised demonstration in Moscow which was to coincide with Russia Day, and then sentenced to 30 days in jail, which was subsequently reduced to 25 days.

Autumn, third arrest

In October 2017, Navalny was detained in

and then sentenced to jail time for the third time since launching his campaign, this time for organising a campaign event in

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

. The event was initially agreed by the Nizhny Novgorod administration, however later permission was withdrawn. Navalny said that he had been arrested in order to prevent him from participating in future campaign events, including one planned for October 7 (Putin's birthday) in

(Putin's hometown). On 4 October Navalny called for mass demonstrations to be held on October 7 in 80 cities throughout Russia. The aim of these protests was to demand real political competition in Russia and that Navalny is granted access to the elections.

Registration and official rejection

On December 24, Navalny launched his official candidacy at

Serebryany Bor Serebryany Bor (russian: Серебряный Бор) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Serebryany Bor, Sakha Republic, an urban-type settlement in Neryungrinsky District of the Sakha Republic ;Rural loca ...

, Beach No. 3, located in Moscow. Here, Navalny held a meeting of an "initiative group" to register his candidacy. Navalny announced that he had gathered enough endorsements to run in the election, after his supporters had previously organized rallies in 20 cities across Russia to secure 15,000 signatures. The meeting featured a nomination ceremony, and was attended by exactly 742 supporters. He needed 500 endorsements each in 20 cities, thus similar events were held in nineteen other cities across Russia. These events took place in

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is ...

Izhevsk Izhevsk (russian: Иже́вск, p=ɪˈʐɛfsk; udm, Ижкар, ''Ižkar'', or , ''Iž'') is the capital city of Udmurtia, Russia. It is situated along the Izh River, west of the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. It is the 21st-largest city i ...

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

Omsk Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia ** Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administra ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...

Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with ...

Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901,36 ...

Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura River. Fueled by the Russian oil and gas indu ...

Ufa Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers, in the centre-north of Bashkortostan, on hills forming the ...

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

Volgograd Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the ...

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence ...

, and

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...

. The nomination in Moscow was also attended by election workers, who were there to witness that everything was being done in accordance with the law. Navalny and his supporters began to assemble the documents to officially register his candidacy with the elections committee, with some difficulty, as the low temperatures caused their printers to stop working. At the meeting, Navalny called Vladimir Putin a “bad president,” saying, Navalny also alleged that Putin lacks the strong public support that he claims to hold, and that his candidacy was going prove that to be the case. After the meeting, Navalny tweeted, The meeting was followed the same day by an opposition protest attended by 1,000 in Lermontov Square. The protest was a pro-Navalny demonstration organized by

Ilya Yashin Ilya Valeryevich Yashin (russian: Илья́ Вале́рьевич Я́шин; born 29 June 1983) is a Russian opposition politician who led the PARNAS party from 2012 to 2016, and then its Moscow branch. He was also head of the Moscow munici ...

On December 25, the elections commission voted that Navalny was ineligible to run for president, thus officially rejecting Navalny's candidacy and barring him from running. Navalny responded to the commission's decision by calling on his supporters to boycott the election. Navalny released a pre-recorded video following the decision, saying, Of his call for a boycott, Navalny told

, Before the decision had been announced, Navalny had commented that the speed with which they had held assembled to vote, only 18 hours after he had filed his candidacy, indicated that they had already decided beforehand to reject his candidacy. Navalny filed a lawsuit to appeal against the CEC’s decision in Russia’s

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

on 28 December. At the hearing, which took place on 30 December, the Supreme Court rejected Navalny’s claim. Navalny filed an appeal against the Supreme Court’s ruling on 3 January 2018.

January 28 protests

Tour of Russia

In September 2017, Navalny began a big agitation tour of Russia, which included 27 cities: *

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

(15 September 2017) *

(16 September 2017) *

(17 September 2017) *

(22 September 2017) *

(23 September 2017) *

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...

(24 September 2017) *

Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...

(30 September 2017) *

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies o ...

(1 October 2017) *

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

(22 October 2017) *

Ivanovo Ivanovo ( rus, Иваново, p=ɪˈvanəvə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Russia. It is the administrative center and largest city of Ivanovo Oblast, located northeast of Moscow and approximately from Yaroslavl, Vlad ...

(27 October 2017) *

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...

(28 October 2017) *

Tambov Tambov (, ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna and ...

(29 October 2017) *

(4 November 2017) *

Kemerovo Kemerovo ( rus, Ке́мерово, p=ˈkʲemʲɪrəvə) is an industrial city and the administrative center of Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Iskitimka and Tom Rivers, in the major coal mining region of the Kuznetsk Ba ...

(5 November 2017) *

(10 November 2017) *

(11 November 2017) *

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

(12 November 2017) *

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Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

(25 November 2017) *

(26 November 2017) *

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Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...

(2 December 2017) *

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Barnaul Barnaul ( rus, Барнау́л, p=bərnɐˈul) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative centre of Altai Krai, Russia, located at the confluence of the Barnaulka and Ob Rivers in the West Siberian Plain. As ...

(8 December 2017) *

Novokuznetsk Novokuznetsk ( rus, Новокузнецк, p=nəvəkʊzˈnʲɛt͡sk; literally: "new smith's", cjs, Аба-тура, ''Aba-tura'') is a city in Kemerovo Oblast (Kuzbass) in south-western Siberia, Russia. It is the second largest city in the obla ...

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Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

(10 December 2017)

Campaign strategy

According to a January 2017 publication on the website of Leonid Volkov, Navalny's chief of staff, their strategy revolves around setting up regional offices that will serve the following functions:Volkov, Leonid
План кампании: региональная сеть и задания для волонтеров , Campaign plan: regional network and assignments for volunteers
Published 19 January 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017. * Preparation for collecting signatures * Preparation for election observers * Raising support They had opened offices in 83 cities by the summer of 2017. Navalny has announced a series of rallies across Russia on January 28 to call for a boycott of the 2018 presidential election, after Central Election Commission (CEC) refused to register him as a candidate in the race.

Opinion polls

Political positions

Economy

One of Navalny's primary focuses during the campaign is improving the economy.Platform
. Navalny 2018 website. Retrieved 30 April 2017. His more specific economic proposals include instituting a

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

, lowering prices of apartments and reducing bureaucracy of home construction, making healthcare and education free, lowering taxes for many citizens, taxing the gains from

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

, decentralization of financial management and increase in local governance, increasing transparency in state-owned firms, implementing work visas for

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

n migrants coming into the country for work, and increasing economic cooperation with western European states. He also wants to collect higher taxes from oligarchs while lowering taxes on small-time entrepreneurs in order to lessen income inequality.Alexei Navalny's presidential platform The oppositionist's main campaign points in a nutshell
Meduza. Published 13 December 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2017.

Immigration

Navalny stated that he wants to introduce a visa regime with the Central Asian republics to register and regulate the number of workers coming to Russia.

Foreign policy

The primary focus of Navalny's campaign is on domestic issues, although he has commented on foreign policy. He has state regarding the annexation of Crimea that a second "honest referendum" needs to be done to confirm the region's status,Putilov, Ivan
Чего ждать Крыму от президента Навального? , What should Crimea expect from President Navalny?

Rossiya Segodnya MIA Rossiya Segodnya (; ) is a media group owned and operated by the Russian government, created on the basis of RIA Novosti. The group owns and operates Sputnik, RIA Novosti, inoSMI and several other entities. The head of the organisation is ...

. Published 19 December 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016. and believes the

War in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

can be resolved by implementing the

Minsk agreement The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, known ...

.Ragozin, Leonid (29 March 2017)
Alexei Navalny Wants Putin’s Job. Here’s What He’d Do With It
''

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ma ...

''. Retrieved 3 May 2017. He also has spoken against the Russian intervention in the Syrian Civil War, believing that there are internal problems that need to be dealt with rather than get involved in foreign wars. Bershidsky, Leonid (14 December 2016)
A Populist Challenge to Putin

. Retrieved 3 May 2017. In an interview with a reporter from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Navalny summarized his position by saying "I tell them: 'OK great, so Putin is promising to rebuild

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...

, but why don't you look at the roads in your city? What do you think the priority should be? Fixing the roads in Voronezh or Stavropol or rebuilding Palmyra? The Americans are loaded. Let them fix Palmyra, and we should concentrate on our own problems.'"Walker, Shaun (29 April 2017)
Alexei Navalny on Putin's Russia: 'All autocratic regimes come to an end'
''

''. Retrieved 3 May 2017. Navalny has also stated that he considers Russia to be part of the Western world and does not support the Eurasianist ideology of some Russian government officials. He said that Russia should become a leading country in Europe and Asia through cultural and economic might.

Corruption

One of the main campaign themes is combating corruption in the Russian government. Navalny proposes to initiate criminal cases against government officials who cannot explain how they were able to acquire very luxurious items that seem too much for their paycheck, which should be identified by the press. He also intends to reform the

and judiciary of Russia to make them more independent.

LGBT

In an interview with a reporter from '' RBC'', Navalny said that he will repeal the gay propaganda law. He also spoke in support of legalization of

same-sex partnership A domestic partnership is a legal relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee r ...

by region via referendums.

References

{{Candidates in the Russian presidential election, 2018 2017 in Russia 2018 in Russia Opposition to Vladimir Putin Navalny Presidential