In the Russian Arctic, activist Navalny’s campaign bid is crushed

MOSCOW, Sept 1 (Reuters) – First leaflets came to her staircase accusing her of encouraging children to become gay. Her office was then vandalized and his windows shot. And after that he was taken to the hospital for COVID-19 treatment which he said he did not need or did not want.

Violetta Grudina, an opposition activist in the Russian port city of Murmansk, said the intimidation began after she said she would run for city council in local elections to be held in parallel with the September 17-19 parliamentary vote.

She says she does not know who placed the leaflets, shot at the windows or ordered her treatment and prosecution, but blames local authorities for a dirty bay campaign.

He was later excluded from the ballot as an ally of jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny, whose movement was banned as an extremist in June.

“It was a campaign of terror, a campaign of intimidation – the public overthrow of an opposition candidate so that people would never think of engaging in politics out of fear of the repression I have faced,” Grudina, 31, told Reuters.

The Kremlin declined to comment on Grudina’s allegations. He denies targeting opposition politicians and says people are only taken to court if they break the law. The local city and governor’s offices did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The ruling United Russia party, which backs President Vladimir Putin, is expected to maintain its dominance in the election despite falling ratings fueled by rising prices and stagnant or falling wages.

Grudina ran a campaign office in Murmansk for Navalny until it became clear this year that he would be outlawed.

Authorities identified Navalny and his supporters as Western-backed troublemakers and sought to destabilize Russia, a charge they rejected. Many of them described the intimidation, but Grudina’s report shows a multifaceted campaign.

“DARK TIMES”

A former LGBT activist, Grudina says she began to oppose Putin when Russia passed a law in 2013 banning “homosexual propaganda” on minors, a law it said discriminated against. She says neither she nor anyone else was involved in spreading “homosexual propaganda”.

“First I was persecuted for my orientation, now I am persecuted for my views,” he said.

In April, she announced her candidacy for the 28-seat council in Murmansk, which approves the budget for the city, the capital of the region where Russia’s Northern Fleet is based.

Defamatory leaflets appeared in her neighbors’ mailboxes shortly afterwards. Then someone closed her office with foam and pulled a swastika on him. She was later vandalized again and the windows of her office were shot overnight, with 11 holes appearing in photos she posted on social media.

Grudina says that after recovering from a mild COVID-19 case and leaving a mandatory period of solitary confinement, she was ordered by the court to be treated, ostensibly for treatment, during the election registration period.

He said the court rejected the negative test he had received and that he ended up in the hospital for almost three weeks.

He tried to register remotely and, when that failed, went on a hunger strike. He was released from hospital several days later and formally charged with violating COVID-19 safety rules.

The media reports on the ongoing court case show that it depends on when he should have been isolated and for how long and not on the facts that infect anyone. Grudina says she followed the instructions. The hospital declined to comment.

Outside the hospital, Grudina was able to register as a candidate – but was later barred from calling Navalny’s allies “extremists”, a decision that took effect last month.

He draws inspiration to continue from Navalny, who is serving a 2-1 / 2 year prison sentence on charges he says have been undermined after being poisoned by what Western governments say was a military nerve agent.

“Dark times have begun, that’s obvious,” Grudina said. “It’s a lot harder to work with … (but) if we give up, then why was that?”

Report by Tom Balmforth. curated by Andrew Osborn and Philippa Fletcher

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