(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Russian Journalist Challenges Putin for 2024 Election! [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-12-18 Yekaterina Duntsova is a 40 year old Russian journalist, lawyer, mother, and politician; who officially declared her candidacy on November 16th to run against Vladimir Putin for President of Russia in 2024. Born in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia, in 1982; her family moved to Rzhev, a city of about 60,000 residents, 130 miles NW of Moscow when she was 12. She received degrees in both law and television journalism, from Tver State University. She has had an active career in Russian television for most of her adult life but has also been active in politics, and has served as a member of the Rzhev City Duma (similar to a city council), for 3 years. She is also a coordinator for volunteer search and rescue teams. In her personal life, she has three children. Within 4 days of throwing her hat in the ring, she was interviewed by the prosecutor’s office regarding her stance on the Ukraine conflict. This is significant because it is a felony in Russia to speak out against the war. Even calling it a war is a prosecutable offense. Putin has coined the term “special military operation” and calling it anything else is not allowed. On Sunday, December 17th, she held a meeting in Moscow and collected the 500 signatures needed to form her initiative group. During that meeting, the power was turned off and the police arrived. Clearly she has not escaped the notice of Putin. Just as clearly he must see her as an actual threat. You can catch her Reuters interview here. On her campaign webpage Let's Return the Future to Our Country , she explains her reasons for running (translated for your reading pleasure): For at least the last ten years, the country has been moving in the wrong direction: the course has been set not for development, but for self-destruction. Every day the life of ordinary Russians becomes more and more difficult. Citizens cannot freely express their opinions if they do not coincide with the position of the authorities; The number of political prisoners is growing, hundreds of thousands of people have been driven out of the country. Local self-government has been virtually destroyed, and in a huge state everything is decided by one person. “Military operations” on the territory of neighboring states lead to inevitable isolation and degradation. The last allies remain Iran, North Korea and Eritrea, but they too may soon turn away. She also lays out a plan for bringing Russia out of the dark days in which it finds itself: The country needs urgent changes: a cessation of hostilities, democratic reforms, and the release of political prisoners. We have to abolish all inhumane laws and restore relations with the outside world. Change budget priorities: spend money on improving the lives of citizens, and not on new tanks. Bring back the freedoms that were taken away. We must make the country attractive and comfortable to live in! On her campaign website, she has included a section for collecting signatures to meet the required 300,000 necessary to be included on the 2024 ballot. If dark forces don’t dismantle her web page, she might just find herself on the ballot by Spring! I wonder if the troops in the trenches are allowed to sign up and vote? One would think they might be willing to consider a change in leadership. We can only hope that she is able to avoid windows in tall buildings and is not served any FSB tea. Anyone up for some “interference” in a Russian election? [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/18/2212492/-Russian-Journalist-Challenges-Putin-for-2024-Election?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/