16.03.2018, Moscow.
Journalist Vladimir Solovyov called the controversial “opposition figure” Aleksey Navalny “a complete crook” on the air of the Vesti.fm radio station on March 14, a correspondent of the Rossa Primavera Information Agency reports.
“Why do these crooks think they can dictate something to everyone else?” Solovyov voiced his resentment regarding Navalny and his associates. The journalist also said that one must not use a thief’s methods even against those whom one believes to be thieves. “They will say, ‘We only wanted to expose you as swindlers,’ and this makes you a crook,” Solovyov said addressing to Navalny.
The host of the Full Contact radio program also recalled the very nontransparent sources of income for Navalny and his associates. “He is an absolute crook who can never tell how he earns his living, his vacations, his security, his cars, his rented luxury apartments, and offices. An absolute crook,” this is how Solovyov characterized Navalny and his colleagues from the “liberal” opposition camp.
On March 13, 2018, voting ballots were confiscated in Navalny’s “headquarters” in Kaliningrad. Initially, law enforcement officials broke into the office in order to make a search on the suspicion of illegal election campaigning. However, the large number of voting ballots found surprised even them. The police believe that Navalny’s associates planned to use these ballots not only for illegal campaigning but also for provocations during the election.
On December 25, 2017, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) refused to register Navalny as a presidential candidate in the Russian presidential election scheduled on March 18, 2018. However, Navalny’s “election headquarters” set up across Russia were not closed; they continued to operate. Navalny did not recognize the CEC’s verdict; he called for a boycott of the election, and he announced a “voters’ strike.” This call met an outburst of ironic web activity about “schoolchildren against homework” among bloggers and social media users. The wave of cutting responses on the Internet can be accounted for by the fact that the majority of Navalny’s audience are minors. Furthermore, the average age of a “Navalny kid” steadily decreases as the notorious “opposition activist” puts himself further and further on the fringe.
Editorial comment
Since the CEC refused to register Navalny, the failed opposition activist completely lost any legal ways to influence not only the public as a whole, but also his thinning audience. Navalny today can hardly gather even a protest rally the day after the election, as Left Front opposition activists plan to do. All he can now hope for is minor provocations and ballot stuffing at the Russian presidential election. Hopefully, he will not be allowed to do even this.
Source: Rossa Primavera news agency
