Boris Nadezhdin, the anti-war politician who was blocked from running in Russia’s 2024 presidential election, has announced that he is launching a bid for two offices in the lower-house State Duma and the Moscow legislative assembly in races later this year.
Nadezhdin, 62, saw his popularity surge in early 2024 when he made open calls for peace with Ukraine and democratic reform, marking a rare moment of public dissent in wartime Russia. Thousands of Russians signed petitions backing his campaign to run for president that year, though he was ultimately barred from the ballot on technical grounds.
“Our campaign headquarters is up and running,” Nadezhdin told the newspaper Vedomosti. “We’ve rented offices in several cities, started building a database of supporters, and are preparing for the signature collection phase and upcoming events.”
He said he plans to campaign on a platform of a “return to normal life,” though he admitted that election authorities may once again move to disqualify him from running.
“A realistic goal would be to use these elections as the basis for a broad public campaign to normalize the situation in the country,” Nadezhdin said.
Political analysts remain skeptical of his chances. Some of them told Vedomosti that the campaign is likely an effort by Nadezhdin to remain politically relevant following a string of setbacks since he was barred from running in the 2024 presidential election.
After that failed bid, Nadezhdin was declared bankrupt over decade-old debts and stepped down from his post as a municipal councilman in the town of Dolgoprudny. At the same time, Civic Initiative, the center-right party that initially backed him, was disbanded by the government.
Legislative elections are scheduled to be held in Russia in September.
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