Putin-Critical Politician Withdraws from Election

 

TT

 

Published 20:35

  

Russian politician Boris Nadezhdin in court on Friday where he was convicted of “displaying extremist symbols”. Photo: Pavel Bednyakov/AP/TT

Liberal politician Boris Nadezhdin will not run in the autumn elections to the State Duma. According to him, the reason is that he has been silenced and thrown out of politics.

Nadezhdin is one of the few politicians in Russia who has openly criticized President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. Last week, he was labeled a “foreign agent” by Russian authorities.

And on Friday, he was convicted in court for “displaying extremist symbols” after posting a short video clip of the dead dissident Alexei Navalny in 2023.

“My power to legally engage as an opposition politician in Russia has been exhausted,” he writes on Telegram.

Russia's Supreme Court barred Nadezhdin from running in the presidential election two years ago.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities have intensified their crackdown on opposition figures,