Russia rallies: Thousands sign for anti-war candidate Boris Nadezhdin ahead of March election

Boris Nadezhdin, a former Russian deputy, announced his intention to run in the presidential election, which is scheduled for March 17. For his name to appear on the ballot, he must gather 100,000 signatures by January 25.

Over the weekend, photos revealed people lined up to submit their signatures.Many of these individuals were spotted in Moscow and Petersburg. As of Monday morning, approximately 81,000 signatures had been collected.

The BBC noted that the Russian opposition was initially skeptical of Nadezhdin's candidacy. Previous reports have speculated that the Kremlin is considering selecting one of Vladimir Putin's "sparring partners" in the election to act as a "liberal candidate". This tactic was notably employed in 2018, with the role filled by celebrity Ksenia Sobchak.

Nadezhdin insisted that he did not coordinate his candidacy with the Kremlin. However, a friend of his informed the independent portal Meduza that the president's administration proposed that the politician run in the elections.

Boris Nadezhdin is a 60-year-old politician running under the non-parliamentary party Civic Initiative. In the late 90s, he served as an advisor to Boris Nemtsov, a leader of the democratic opposition who was assassinated in 2015. Later, Nadezhdin served as an advisor to Sergei Kiriyenko, a former Prime Minister of Russia, now Deputy Chief of the Presidential Administration. He represented the Union of Right Forces party in the Duma and worked for the Kremlin-loyal party Right Cause (Pravoye Delo). He's often featured on political TV shows as an expert and has played the role of the opposition's "punching bag".

Nadezhdin has voiced his opposition to the continuation of the war in Ukraine, referring to it as a "special military operation". He believes that initiating the war was a "fatal mistake" and that Putin is driving the country "towards a catastrophe".

A portion of the opposition encourages support for Nadezhdin's candidacy as a means of lawful protest against the war in Ukraine, reports BBC.

"Sign for Boris Nadezhdin. There's less than a week left to voice your anti-war stance in this manner, even if Nadezhdin is not your candidate," wrote entrepreneur Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who is persecuted by the Kremlin. Among those rallying for the politician's support are also colleagues of the imprisoned anti-Kremlin opposition leader, Alexei Navalny.