Boris Nadezhdin
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Boris Borisovich Nadezhdin (; born 26 April 1963) is a Russian opposition politician. He served in the
State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...
from 1999 to 2003. He was also a municipal councillor in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
and was considered to be a close ally of opposition politician
Boris Nemtsov Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov; (9 October 195927 February 2015) was a Russian physicist, liberalism in Russia, liberal politician, and outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin. Early in his political career, he was involved in the introduction of reform ...
who was murdered. In November 2023, Nadezhdin announced his candidacy in the
2024 Russian presidential election Russian presidential elections, Presidential elections were held in Russia from 15 to 17 March 2024. It was the eighth presidential election in the country. The incumbent president Vladimir Putin won with 88% of the vote, the highest percentage ...
. He was subsequently barred from running in the election by 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 ...
, which claimed to have found "irregularities" in signatures supporting his candidacy. In June 2024, days after being declared personally bankrupt by Rosenergobank, he resigned from his position as a Moscow Municipal Deputy, telling a Telegram news channel that it was not under pressure from external actors.


Early and personal life

Nadezhdin was born in
Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...
, Soviet Uzbekistan. He survived the Tashkent earthquake, which occurred on his third birthday. In 1969, he was brought by his parents to the city of
Dolgoprudny Dolgoprudny (, ) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located about north of Moscow city center. The town's name is derived from Russian "" (''dolgy prud'', lit. "long pond")—a long and narrow pond situated in the northeastern part of the town. ...
where his father studied at the
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT; , also known as PhysTech), is a public university, public research university located in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It prepares specialists in theoretical physics, theoretical and applied physics, ...
(MIPT), and his mother was a student at the
Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...
. For five generations in the Nadezhdin family, all men bore the name Boris. His paternal grandfather was a Soviet Uzbek composer and associate professor at the Tashkent Conservatory. His maternal grandfather fled to Uzbekistan from
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
after the
October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
.


Education

In 1979 he won the second prize at the All-Union Mathematical Olympiad among high school students. That year, he graduated from the Specialized Boarding School No. 18 for Physics and Mathematics at the
Lomonosov Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...
. In 1985, he graduated with honors from MIPT. From 1985 to 1990, he was an engineer and researcher at the All-Union Research Center for the Study of Surface and Vacuum Properties.


Political career

Nadezhdhin served in the 3rd convocation of the
State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...
from 1999 to 2003. He ran in the
2003 Russian legislative election Legislative elections were held in Russia on 7December 2003.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1642 At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma (''Gosudarstvennaya Duma''), the lower house of the ...
from the 109th Mytishchi district of the
Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...
. He lost the election to the former commander of the Moscow District of Internal Troops, Arkady Baskayev (
People's Party of the Russian Federation The People's Party of the Russian Federation was a centrist political party in Russia. The leader of the party was Gennady Raikov. History Before official registration of the People's Party on 29 September 2001, the "People's Deputy" group ...
). The
Union of Right Forces The Union of Right Forces (URF). was a Russian liberal-conservative political public organization and former party, initially founded as an electoral bloc in 1999 and associated with free market reforms, privatization, and the legacy of the "yo ...
party, of which Nadezhdin was a member, also lost the elections. At the same time, elections were held for the
Dolgoprudny Dolgoprudny (, ) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located about north of Moscow city center. The town's name is derived from Russian "" (''dolgy prud'', lit. "long pond")—a long and narrow pond situated in the northeastern part of the town. ...
Council of Deputies, in which the City of Hope bloc, under the patronage of Nadezhdin, also lost. In August 2005, Nadezhdin was a member of the initiative group for the nomination of the former head of
Yukos OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep during the controversial "loans for shares" auctions of ...
,
Mikhail Khodorkovsky Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (, ; born 26 June 1963), sometimes known by his initials MBK, is an exiled Russian businessman, Russian oligarchs, oligarch, and Russian opposition, opposition activist, now residing in London. In 2003, Khodork ...
, to the State Duma in the by-elections for the 201st University District of Moscow. The nomination did not take place due to the entry into force of the verdict in the first criminal case against Yukos. In March 2007, Nadezhdin was a Union of Right Forces candidate in the Moscow Regional Duma elections. According to the results announced by the regional election commission, the party lost the elections. However, Nadezhdin said that, according to his data, the Union of Right Forces had overcome the seven percent barrier: Nadezhdin accused the vice-governor of the
Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...
, Alexei Panteleyev, of fraud (according to Nadezhdin, the results were adjusted in favor of
United Russia The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...
). From 6 November 2008 to 2011, Nadezhdin was a member of the Federal Political Council of the Right Cause party. On 3 August 2011, Nadezhdin, as leader of the Moscow Oblast branch of Right Cause, said in an interview: "In the Moscow Oblast branch, we definitely want to deal with the "Russian" question." According to him, he had already held several round tables on this issue with the participation of nationalists, "And that’s why officers and young skinheads are now joining my department en masse." He referred to certain studies, according to which, in the last few years, about 400,000 people from the southern regions of Russia have moved to the Moscow Oblast for permanent residence. Arguing his position, Nadezhdin emphasized that "The Moscow Oblast is Russian land." Party leader
Mikhail Prokhorov Mikhail Dmitrievich Prokhorov (; born 3 May 1965) is a Russian-Israeli oligarch and politician. He was also an owner of the Brooklyn Nets. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Prokhorov obtained Russian state-owned metals assets at prices ...
reacted quite sharply to these statements. Prokhorov wrote on his blog, "We have not included any nationalists in any party lists and will not include them. Right Cause will not deal with any nationalist movements." Some party members proposed expelling Nadezhdin from the party. In the
2011 Russian legislative election Legislative elections were held in Russia on 4 December 2011. At stake were the 450 seats in the 6th State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly (the legislature). United Russia won the elections with 49.32% of the vote, taking 238 sea ...
, Nadezhdin refused to enter the top three of the federal election list of Right Cause but headed the party’s list in the elections to the Moscow Oblast Duma. On 26 December 2011, Nadezhdin left Right Cause, explaining his decision by the desire to create a new right-wing party together with the former head of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation,
Alexei Kudrin Alexei Leonidovich Kudrin ( rus, Алексе́й Леони́дович Ку́дрин, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ ˈkudrʲɪn; born 12 October 1960) is a Russian liberal politician and economist. Previously he served as the C ...
. In February 2012, in the leadup to the
2012 Russian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Russia on 4 March 2012. There were five officially registered candidates: four representatives of registered parties, and one nominal independent. The election was the first one held after constitutional amend ...
, Nadezhdin sent an offer to become an authorized representative to the election headquarters of all presidential candidates, including
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
. Nadezhdin explained this by the desire to be able to appoint observers to polling stations. He failed to become Putin's authorized representative but became Putin's observer. In mid-February 2012, he was registered as an authorized representative of
Sergey Mironov Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov (; born 14 February 1953) is a Russian politician. He served as Chairman of the Federation Council (Russia), Chairman of the Federation Council of Russia, Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliam ...
. On 10 December 2015, at a meeting of the liberal platform of the
United Russia The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...
party, Nadezhdin announced his desire to participate in its 2016 primaries to participate in the State Duma elections in the fall of 2016, running in the 118th
Dmitrov Dmitrov () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Dmitrovsky District, Moscow Oblast, Dmitrovsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the north of Moscow on the Yakhroma River and the Mosc ...
single-mandate constituency. This decision caused criticism from his political colleagues in the liberal camp. Nadezhdin himself explained his participation in the primaries by his desire to start the election campaign earlier; he had no intention of running for United Russia. He performed unsuccessfully in the primaries, losing to
Irina Rodnina Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina ( rus, Ирина Константиновна Роднина, p=ɪˈrʲinə kənstɐnˈtʲinəvnə rədʲnʲɪˈna; born 12 September 1949) is a Russian politician and retired figure skater, who is the only pair s ...
. In the
2016 Russian legislative election Legislative elections were held in Russia on 18 September 2016, having been brought forward from 4 December. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma of the 7th convocation, the lower house of the Federal Assembly. Prior to the election U ...
, Nadezhdin headed the Moscow Oblast list of the
Party of Growth Party of Growth (, ) was a liberal-conservative political party in Russia which had representatives in several local legislatures. Created in March 2016 on the basis of the Right Cause party, the party's main policy stances are liberal free marke ...
without joining the party itself. On 22 December 2016, in an interview with the ''
Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...
'' newspaper, he stated that he wishes the Party of Growth "success and good luck" but does not intend to associate himself with the party since "he does not see any prospects for it." Nadezhdhin contested the 2018 Moscow Oblast gubernatorial election for the Party of Growth. In 2019, Nadezhdin headed the list of the
A Just Russia A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...
party in the elections to the City Council of the city of
Dolgoprudny Dolgoprudny (, ) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located about north of Moscow city center. The town's name is derived from Russian "" (''dolgy prud'', lit. "long pond")—a long and narrow pond situated in the northeastern part of the town. ...
. He was elected as a deputy of the Council of Deputies of the Dolgoprudny urban district of the Moscow Oblast in a multi-member electoral district. He headed the faction of the A Just Russia party in the Council of Deputies but was not a party member. In March 2020, Nadezhdin signed an appeal to Russian citizens against the adoption of amendments to the Constitution of Russia proposed by President Putin. In the leadup to the
2021 Russian legislative election Legislative elections were held in Russia from 17 to 19 September 2021. At stake were 450 seats in the 8th State Duma, 8th convocation of the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly. Going into the election ...
at the congress of the A Just Russia party, Nadezhdin was nominated as a candidate for deputy of the State Duma in the Dmitrov single-mandate electoral district No. 118 in the Moscow Oblast. Zakhar Prilepin, co-chairman of A Just Russia – For Truth, expressed dissatisfaction, pointing out that the program ideas of A Just Russia do not correspond to Nadezhdin's liberal beliefs. According to the
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, Nadezhdin took 2nd place, receiving 40,421 votes (17.12%), losing to the representative of United Russia, Irina Rodnina. In April 2022, Nadezhdhin stated on an NTV talk show that the Soviet Union had "occupied Czechoslovakia and Eastern Europe," which was met with controversy by other panellists. In September 2022, as Russia retreated from Ukraine's Kharkiv region, Nadezhdin criticized Russia's intelligence services and called for negotiations to end the conflict on an NTV current affairs show. He criticized Russia's war strategy, stating it was impossible to beat Ukraine using its current methods and materials, calling the strategy "colonial war methods." A few days later, on the
Russia-1 Russia-1 () is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship channel of the All-Russia ...
channel, Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov called for Nadezhdin to be arrested. In January 2023, Nadezhdin suggested the "war was a disastrous mistake" on the NTV current affairs show '' Mesto Vstrechi''. During the last week of March 2023, he was "angrily shouted down" on the same show after he suggested that the West was more powerful than Russia. In the 2023 Moscow Oblast gubernatorial election, Nadezhdin nominated himself as a candidate for the Civic Initiative party but was denied registration because he could not collect the required number of signatures of municipal deputies in his support.


2024 presidential campaign

On 27 May 2023, Nadezhdin called for electing a new government in Russia in order to stop the
war against Ukraine The following is a list of major conflicts fought by Ukraine, by Ukrainian people or by regular armies during periods when List of tribes and states in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, independent states existed on the Geography of Ukraine, modern ...
and build relations with Europe. On 6 October 2023, Nadezhdin's participation in the 2024 presidential election was announced by Dmitry Kisiyev, founder of the Candidates’ Headquarters, on his social media. On 31 October 2023, Nadezhdin announced that he will run from the Civic Initiative party. As part of his campaign, Nadezhdin visited wives of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, telling them that the country wanted the war to stop. Protests of wives against the invasion of Ukraine have previously posed an issue for the Kremlin. Nadezhdin also campaigned about widespread infrastructure problems that had been causing heating issues for many across the winters in Russia. Nadezhdin said his opposition to Putin was not just based on the invasion of Ukraine, saying that "practically he destroyed the key institutions of modern government, of modern state in Russia, like parliament, like courts, like free elections etc. My job will be to restore these institutions". On 31 January 2024, Nadezhdin brought signatures in support of his candidacy to the Central Election Commission. This is the last day to submit signatures to participants in the elections. According to him, signatures were collected in more than 120 cities, a total of 208,000 signatures were collected, of which 105,000 were brought to the CEC. Before bringing the signatures, he gave a speech in which he thanked everyone who donated money for his presidential campaign and claimed that "never in the history of Russia has there been such a thing that a presidential candidate's campaign was entirely based on donations". There were reports of a concentration of
security forces Security forces are statutory organizations with internal security mandates. In the legal context of several countries, the term has variously denoted police and military units working in concert, or the role of irregular military and paramilitar ...
near the CEC building with dozens of police cars and paddy wagons around the building, as well as
riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police officers who act in the role of riot police in particular situations, or they may be separate unit ...
units with dogs on duty. In addition, journalists noticed problems with mobile connection. In his political program Nadezhdin described himself as "a principled opponent of the current president's policy". Nadezhdin declared the termination of
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
as a main statement in his election program and wanted to initiate a new peace negotiations with Ukraine and the
Western countries The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also constitute the West. ...
. His campaign manifesto stated that "
special military operation "Special military operation" (also "special operation", and abbreviated as "SMO" or "SVO", or , ) is the official term used by the Russian government to describe the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is widely considered a euphemism intended to ...
was Putin's error. Because it was not possible to reach its goals without huge impact on Russian economy and demography". Nadezhdin accused Putin of dragging Russia back into the past and expressed concern that Russia is becoming a vassal of China after being cut off from Western countries following the invasion of Ukraine. Nadezhdin became the only potential candidate who was opposed to the war in Ukraine. His comment that the invasion of Ukraine was a "fatal mistake" by Putin was remarked by ''
NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...
'' to be "a rare public stance in the country where the regime’s loudest critics are either jailed, exiled or dead". In January 2024, citing unidentified sources in the Kremlin, the independent news outlet Vyorstka reported that the CEC, at the behest of the Kremlin, will likely reject Nadezhdin’s registration due to his criticism of Putin and anti-war stances. In late January 2024, a source in the Putin administration told the Latvia-based news outlet
Meduza ''Meduza'' (Russian: Медуза, named after the Greek goddess Medusa) is a Russian- and English-language independent news website, headquartered in Riga, Latvia. It was founded in 2014 by a group of former employees of the then-independent ...
: "There’s a portion of the electorate that wants the war to end. If utin’s opponent in the electionsdecides to cater to this demand, they may get a decent percentage. And he Putin administrationdoesn’t need that." It was already widely thought that authorities would not welcome a candidate who is openly anti the war in Ukraine. On 30 January 2024, Kremlin propagandist and television presenter Vladimir Solovyov warned Nadezhdin: "I feel bad for Boris. The fool didn’t realize that he’s not being set up to run for president but for a criminal case on charges of betraying the Motherland." On 8 February 2024, Nadezhdin was barred from running against Putin in the presidential election due to alleged "irregularities" in the signatures of voters supporting his candidacy. The election commission claimed that only 95,587 of his signatures in support of his candidacy were valid, just short of the 100,000 needed to run. His team said that some of the "errors" the election commission had claimed existed were merely minor typos that happened when handwritten names were put into its computers. The rejection of Nadezhdin's candidacy meant that only three candidates other than Putin were to be allowed to run, all from parties which have broadly backed the Kremlin's policies, and who are not seen to be genuine challengers. Many believe that their candidacies were themselves approved by the Kremlin, as part of the managed democracy approach the Kremlin has in controlling elections to give them a figment of legitimacy. Over the years, opponents of the Kremlin have frequently been prevented from running in elections in Russia on the grounds of supposed technical infringements, and the procedure of having to gather signatures is used by the authorities to prevent challengers from running. Putin has not allowed genuine electoral opposition during his rule. On Nadezhdin's campaign, ''
Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...
'' observed how "at best critics are disqualified, at worst, assassinated", discussing how
Boris Nemtsov Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov; (9 October 195927 February 2015) was a Russian physicist, liberalism in Russia, liberal politician, and outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin. Early in his political career, he was involved in the introduction of reform ...
was killed in 2015, Vladimir Kara-Murza being poisoned and jailed and the same happenning to
Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (, ; 4 June 197616 February 2024) was a Russian Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader, anti-corruption in Russia, corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Found ...
. The
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
noted that while election officials had disqualified more than 9,000 of Nadezhdin's signatures in support of his candidacy and disqualified him, they only rejected 91 of President Putin's 315,000 presented signatures.


Reception

In what has been described as something "seemingly unachievable in Russian politics", his bid for presidency was supported by many opposition politicians and public figures: Yekaterina Duntsova (who was blocked from running on the ballot by 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 ...
),
Mikhail Khodorkovsky Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (, ; born 26 June 1963), sometimes known by his initials MBK, is an exiled Russian businessman, Russian oligarchs, oligarch, and Russian opposition, opposition activist, now residing in London. In 2003, Khodork ...
, Ekaterina Schulmann,
Yulia Navalnaya Yulia Borisovna Navalnaya (; rus, Юлия Борисовна Навальная, , , ˈjʉlʲɪjə nɐˈvalʲnəjə; born 24 July 1976) is a Russian public figure and economist. The widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, she has b ...
(wife of
Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (, ; 4 June 197616 February 2024) was a Russian Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader, anti-corruption in Russia, corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Found ...
), Ilya Varlamov,
Lyubov Sobol Lyubov Eduardovna Sobol (, née Fedenyova, ; born 13 September 1987) is a Russian opposition politician, lawyer and a member of the Russian Opposition Coordination Council (2012–2013). She produces the YouTube channel "Navalny Live" of Alexei ...
, Maxim Katz and many others. Russia's main opposition leader
Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (, ; 4 June 197616 February 2024) was a Russian Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader, anti-corruption in Russia, corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Found ...
also passed a message from his imprisonment giving his backing to Nadezhdin's campaign. Navalny had himself been barred from the previous Russian presidential election in 2018 on the grounds of an embezzlement conviction widely considered to be politically motivated, and was then imprisoned on convictions which were also widely seen as being motivated by a desire to silence him. Only one week after Nadezhdin was refused to be allowed to register as a candidate, Navalny was found dead in suspicious circumstances at his prison, which was one of Russia's most harsh penal colonies inside the
Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...
. Queues had formed in towns and villages across Russia and outside Nadezhdin’s headquarters in Moscow to support his bid for president. Footage showed how many thousands had queued even in the snow to sign their names, and he garnered "surprise levels of support". Nadezhdin proved particularly popular with younger urban Russians. The number of Russians who had turned up to sign their names was so unexpectedly high that extra sign-up centres had to be added in Moscow. ''
NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...
'' said that the fact that Nadezhdin had managed to collect more than 100,000 signatures to support his campaign was "no small feat for a candidate who says his campaign is funded exclusively by crowdfunding". Russian independent political analyst and former Kremlin speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov told
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: "People won't be voting for Nadezhdin… but against Putin, because Putin represents the war." Gallyamov, who formerly wrote speeches for Putin, said on ''
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'' that the decision to block Nadezdhin from running was "absolutely predictable" and commented that "anyone who understands how Russian public opinion is functioning now" was already sure that the Kremlin would not allow Nadezhdin to run because of him being an anti-war candidate. Gallyamov said that there was no chance that Russia's
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
would dispute the electoral commission's rejection of Nadezhdin's candidacy, saying "we should understand that all the institutions are fully controlled by Putin and his administration". The
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
observed that Nadezhdin had been "relatively critical of Vladimir Putin's full-scale war in Ukraine when few dissenting voices have been tolerated in Russia". Ekaterina Schulmann and other political commentators have stated that the Kremlin likely initially ignored Nadezdin's candidacy as he was perceived as uncharismatic and therefore harmless, until queues were seen to register their support for his campaign. The Kremlin appeared to be taken by surprise by that opposition unity in supporting Nadezhdin and by his apparent surge of public support, and images of long queues of people wanting to sign their names to register Nadezhdin were said to have discredited the Kremlin's claims that the public are united behind Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Nadezhdin commented that his high levels of support likely played a part in the election commission deciding to disqualify him, saying: "if my real level of support was 1% or 2% I will have no problem with registration as a candidate. But when I became very popular in Russia and the level of support 5% each week, we rise 5% each week, and now we have 15 or 20%, in this situation tomorrow I will have a big problem in registration". The day before being barred as a candidate, Nadezhdin agreed it was inevitable that he would be disqualified and remarked that "in Russia we have no free and fair elections", but said he saw "no other good way to change the country" and said methods such as a maidan were "very bad". The
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
said that Nadezhdin's barring from the election was "a strong signal from the Kremlin that it won’t tolerate any public opposition to the invasion of Ukraine".
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
remarked that the refusal to allow Nadezhdin to run was "a move that further clears the country’s political landscape of opponents to Vladimir Putin".


Public activity

Nadezhdin has been a frequent guest in socio-political talk shows on Russian federal television channels, though he appeared less frequently on federal channels since calling for a change in government. He has been one of the few government critics who have been permitted to appear on talk shows on Russian state-run TV since the invasion of Ukraine, and it has been noted that he was treated as an anti-war "whipping boy" that other guests would focus their criticism on, and is "there to be shouted down by pro-Putin propagandists". Nadezhdin has credited the fact that he is still alive and free in Russia to his style of always running in accordance to the Russian Constitution and in absolute accordance with Russian laws, saying "I'm very careful" and highlighting that he avoids criticising Putin personally because "it's not a good idea".


Financial issues

In May 2024, Rosenergobank petitioned an arbitration court in Moscow to declare Nadezhdin bankrupt, saying that he owed the bank 77.4 million rubles ($920,500) in debt dating back from his 2011 electoral campaign. The court ruled in favor of the petition in April 2025.


See also

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Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia Opposition to the government of President Vladimir Putin in Russia, commonly referred to as the Russian opposition, can be divided between the parliamentary opposition parties in the State Duma and the various Non-system opposition, non-systemi ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadezhdin, Boris 1963 births Living people Third convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Politicians from Tashkent 21st-century Russian politicians Russian mathematicians Uzbekistani people of Ukrainian descent Uzbekistani people of Russian descent Uzbekistani people of Polish descent Uzbekistani emigrants to Russia Russian people of Romanian descent Russian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Russian people of Polish descent Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology alumni Kutafin Moscow State Law University alumni Academic staff of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Union of Right Forces politicians Opposition to Vladimir Putin