As of: March 15, 2024, 12:48 p.m
By: Erkan Pehlivan
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In a letter shortly before his death, Kremlin critics called on Russians to take part in the election.
They should give their votes to everyone – except Putin.
Moscow - Shortly before his death, Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is said to have written a letter.
It was published on his website by loyal supporters just in time for the Russian election.
In the article, Navalny asks his companions to show up at the polling stations at 12 p.m. on Sunday (March 17), the main day of the three-day election, in order to publicly show their rejection of the Kremlin chief.
Following an idea from Navalny, Kremlin opponents previously developed a type of random generator called “Foton” for mobile phones, which suggests a candidate name to undecided voters.
“They will prove, like many in Russia, that they do not want Putin for a fifth term in office,” Navalny writes.
The Putin opponent, who died in a prison camp, emphasizes in the article that the other candidates apart from Putin should be elected “evenly, without singling out anyone.”
Navalny's wife does not demand recognition of Putin's re-election
The Kremlin critic's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, also commented on the Russian election in a guest article in the US newspaper
Washington Post
.
The foreseeable re-election of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin should not be recognized internationally, she demanded.
“Unfortunately, too many people in the West still see him as a legitimate political leader, discuss his ideology and search for the political meaning of his actions,” wrote the widow of the dissident who died in custody.
Shortly before his death, Alexei Navalny is said to have written a letter to his supporters.
© IMAGO/Andrew Fosker
Frontal attack by Navalny's widow before the Russian election: "Putin is a gangster"
The opposition politician suggested looking at the Kremlin leader differently and deriving political steps from this: “Putin is not a politician, he is a gangster,” she wrote.
This explains his brutality, his penchant for luxury and his desire to kill.
His status is important for a mafia boss, which is why foreign countries should deny Putin international recognition after the election.
A gangster and those around him also care about money.
Therefore, the opportunities for enrichment for his inner circle should be restricted in order to stir up discontent among the Russian elite, she demanded.
Navalny's widow wants to continue the political fight
“For Western countries, comprehensive support for Ukraine and its army in the fight against Putin’s unjustified aggression has become a natural moral choice,” Navalnaya wrote.
But because a military defeat does not always lead to the overthrow of a tyrant, it is also necessary to continue to support currents critical of the government in Russia.
How widespread these are was shown when thousands of people visited her husband's grave in Moscow, she argued.
Navalnaya (47) wants to continue her husband's political fight.
Putin wants to be confirmed as president for another six-year term in Sunday's election after a quarter of a century at the helm of Russia.
There are no serious opposing candidates.
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Memorial co-chairman sentenced to prison in Russia
Putin rules the country in an authoritarian manner.
Human rights violations are the order of the day in Russia.
A Russian court recently sentenced Oleg Orlov, one of the country's leading human rights activists, to two years and six months in prison for "discrediting" the Russian armed forces in an apparent sham trial, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch criticizes on its website.
“The 70-year-old Orlov is co-chair of Memorial, one of Russia's leading human rights groups and one of three 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winners. The charges against him stem from an article he published in 2022 in which he claimed that “Russia is sinking into fascism,” according to HRW.
“The case against Oleg Orlov is a Kafkaesque farce.
The Kremlin should not be able to eliminate its critics in sham trials,” writes Tanya Lokshina, deputy director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch.
“International actors should do everything in their power to free Orlov and hold Russia accountable for its ongoing and egregious human rights violations before it is too late.”