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On Monday Russian President Vladimir Putin's hand-picked successor Dmitry Medvedev was appointed candidate for the presidency, with a virtual guarantee for success, since his candidacy is supported by the incumbent president and by pro-presidental parties. On Tuesday Medvedev told Russians that if elected he would ask Putin to become prime minister, potentially perpetuating Putin’s grip on power.
Stranded on the sidelines is former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, candidate of the Other Russia opposition alliance, who was forced to abandon his bid for the presidency after he was unable to hold a meeting for the nominationing convention. Kasparov has been radically denied access to any media outlets in Russia and was recently jailed for five days for taking part in an anti-government rally.
NYT: Kasparov Says He Was Forced to End Bid for Presidency
Garry Kasparov, the opposition leader and former chess champion, said Wednesday
that he had been forced to withdraw his candidacy for president of Russia because
his political movement had been unable to rent a hall in Moscow for a nominating
convention, a requirement under Russian law. A spokeswoman for Mr. Kasparov
said the Kremlin had pressed landlords to refuse to rent to his organization,
Other Russia, a problem his campaign confronted before when it tried
to hold political meetings. To formally register for the March 2 presidential
vote, he would have been required to notify the Central Election Commission
of his intention to hold a gathering with 500 citizens to endorse his candidacy.
The deadline was Wednesday, but Other Russia was unable to rent a hall in Moscow
to accommodate the gathering, according to Mr. Kasparov’s spokeswoman,
Lyudmila V. Mamina. Full
story here...
BBC News: Kasparov quits presidential race
"My electoral campaign finishes tomorrow," Mr Kasparov said, citing
problems in finding a place to hold a meeting of his supporters in Moscow. Under
Russian election law presidential contenders who are not affiliated to one of
four major parties ... must organise an "initiative group" meeting
of at least 500 supporters before a December deadline. "In all Moscow we
have not been able to find a hall where our supporters could meet," Mr
Kasparov said. "We pay and the people agree. There are no problems. And
then they call us to say they are refusing, can't give us the hall any more,"
he said. "They refuse to give us the hall for technical reasons."
Full story...
Forbes: Kasparov Checkmated
Russian chess legend Gary Kasparov has finally run out of moves against the
grand master of Russian politics, President Vladimir Putin. While Kasparov's
move might grab headlines in the West, it is likely to cause no more than a
flicker in Russia, where his defeat, like that of all other opposition parties,
is a virtual given. Kasparov and other critics of the Putin regime have accused
the Kremlin of crushing democratic opposition by dominating the media, instituting
electoral laws that penalize small parties, and using heavy handed tactics to
break up opposition rallies and demonstrations. Full
story...
