Thanks to Boris Nadezhdin, thousands of Russians are suddenly talking about war and peace in Ukraine. He wants to confront Putin. Who is the man?

Nadezhdin talks about negotiations with Ukraine, but remains silent about the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops. Photo: Anatoly Maltsev/epa

MOSCOW taz | “At least like this”, “at least do something”, “at least someone who has the courage and is openly against the war”: all over Russia people stand for hours in the cold. They joke, they argue and their phrases sound similar, whether in the Urals, in Chelyabinsk, in Yakutsk, when it is almost -50 degrees, or in Moscow. Even in Tbilisi in Georgia or Belgrade in Serbia. They say “Putin has to go”, “the war is a mistake, we are against him”.

These phrases have not been uttered in Russian public for a long time. Russia's repressive laws ensure that any criticism of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is swiftly punished as “discrediting the Russian military” and that the word “war” is banned. So why now?

It depends on Boris Nadezhdin, who has achieved a “miracle”, as he himself calls it with some pomposity. Today, thousands of people queue to see the burly 60-year-old man “without charisma” – he also describes it himself – because they have hope.

The presidential elections from March 15 to 17 are a kind of referendum with a fixed result. Nadezhdin still wants to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin. The local liberal-patriotic politician from a Moscow suburb has already overcome the first hurdle: he can collect signatures for his candidacy. Television journalist Yekaterina Duntsova, who made similar statements, was not even allowed to do that: “You are still young, you still have everything ahead of you,” said Ella Pamfilova, chairwoman of the electoral commission, trashing Duntsova's intentions in December. .

From court jester to beacon of hope

Nadezhdin is neither young nor unknown. He has been in politics since the 1990s, was an adviser to liberal politician Boris Nemtsov, assassinated in 2015, and was also at the side of loyalist Sergei Kiriyenko, now the powerful head of Russian domestic politics in the Kremlin. He has worked in local politics for decades, was a member of the State Duma for the liberal party “Union of Right Forces” until 2003, ran in the gubernatorial elections in the Moscow region in 2018 and finished last.

Before the 2012 presidential election, he wanted to be named Putin's confidant. Today he says that Putin must leave his post and calls the war in Ukraine – legally he calls it a “special military operation” – a “fatal mistake by Putin.”

For years, Nadezhdin acted as a court jester, allowing himself to be invited to state television stations and criticized for his critical positions. However, he remained there, until in May 2023 he asked that Putin be replaced in a broadcast.

He now speaks primarily on the YouTube broadcasts of exiled Russian journalists, whom the Russian state has often labeled “foreign agents.” Nadezhdin tells them that as president, he will release all political prisoners, open negotiations with Ukraine, and stop the mobilization.

He does not talk about the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops. Instead, he likes to repeat that he is a “Russian patriot” and will respect the constitution of his country. Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, even those that were partially conquered, are considered Russian territory. “I feel responsible for millions of people,” Nadezhdin says in his interviews.

It has already collected the necessary 100,000 signatures. That's probably also why he spoke so quickly, even for him, because Russian opposition politicians from exile, from Alexei Navalny's colleagues to former oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky, spoke out in favor of Nadezhdin. Not because they find him and his views compelling, but because they see his campaign as a legal protest against Putin's regime. Nadezhdin's signature is a vote against Putin.

The main thing is opposition to Putin.

By lining up in the cold, many Russians are resisting political gridlock. It shows them that they are not alone with their anti-Kremlin views. Almost no one cares about Nadezhdin himself. “A guinea pig could also compete there, as long as it's not Putin,” one jokes.

Most of the 60-year-old's supporters doubt Nadezhdin will overcome the next hurdle and register as a candidate. Too often they have seen the electoral commission reject signatures collected due to formal errors. Some also consider Nadezhdin to be a test balloon so that the Kremlin can feel the protest mood shortly before the “elections.” Nadezhdin himself says in his usual petulant tone: “Now the real politics has begun.”

Asked what he would do if the government resorted to its usual stick and rejected signatures, Nadezhdin remained unusually silent.