Thousands of Russians Wait in Line to Support Putin's Challenger

Thousands of Russian citizens have shown up in support of presidential hopeful Boris Nadezhdin in recent days to help the Kremlin opposition candidate obtain enough signatures to appear on Russia’s ballot in March.

Nadezhdin, 60, is backed by the Russian center-right Civic Initiative Party, campaigning as a “principled opponent of the policies” of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is running for reelection to a fifth term and anticipated to win the vote set to begin March 15.

According to Kremlin-aligned news outlet TASS, the Civic Initiative Party is not officially recognized by Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma. In order to appear on the presidential ballot, therefore, Nadezhdin must collect at least 100,000 voter signatures in at least 40 regions in the country by January 31.

Russian citizens on Monday line up at Moscow’s campaign headquarters of Boris Nadezhdin, Civic Initiative Party presidential candidate, to add their signatures in his support. Nadezhdin has waged a campaign challenging Russian President Vladimir Putin.
ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images

Photos and videos shared to social media over the weekend showed Russian citizens waiting in long lines to leave a signature in support of Nadezhdin at designated collection points across the country, despite the reported frigid temperatures in many parts of Russia. Independent Russian outlet TV Rain shared a compilation of such footage to its X, formerly Twitter, account Saturday morning. Several local outlets also reported seeing long lines in cities across Russia.

Nadezhdin’s campaign channel on Telegram also shared several videos and images of supporters this week. Gathering sites for signatures were also opened outside of Russia for citizens who, as Nadezhdin said, were “forced to leave the country,” including in countries like the United Kingdom, the United States and France.

As of Monday, Nadezhdin had collected 94,909 signatures, according to his campaign’s website. He will need 5,091 more before the end of the month to appear on March’s ballot.

Newsweek reached out to the Kremlin’s press office via email for comment Monday evening.

Nadezhdin served in Russia’s State Duma from 1999 to 2003, and has held several roles in government over the past few decades, including assistant to former Russian Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko.

According to Nadezhdin’s campaign manifesto, the candidate strongly opposes Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, calling it a “fatal mistake” on the president’s part and claiming that it is “hardly feasible” to achieve Russia’s goals in the war “without huge damage to the economy and an irreparable blow to Russia’s demography.”

Putin is also being challenged by former Russian commander Igor Girkin, a pro-war nationalist who has repeatedly criticized the Kremlin’s leadership and handling of the war in Ukraine. Girkin was arrested in July after publishing commentary that was critical of Putin’s strategy in Ukraine, calling the president a “cowardly mediocrity.”