In Syktyvkar, communists were only allowed to picket after the phrase "For fair elections" was removed.
Syktyvkar Administration agreed A picket in support of Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) candidates was planned for August 28. However, permission from city authorities was only obtained after the organizers completely revised the original statement of the protest's goals.
"Ambiguous interpretation" and new goals of the action
In particular, officials expressed serious objections to the demand for transparent and fair elections. About the situation сообщили Authors of the regional Komi Telegram channel REDpublic:
Among the stated goals—support for candidate Oleg Mikhailov, the federal list of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, and fair elections—the Syktyvkar administration was particularly critical of the phrase "for fair elections." They argued that this goal "does not meet the criteria of certainty" and is open to "ambiguous interpretation."
As a result, the permitted list of picket goals remained solely support for candidates from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the demand for the restoration of candidate Nikolai Bondarenko's registration.
Systemic failures and withdrawal of candidates from elections
Furthermore, the resource's authors cited examples of other wording that Syktyvkar authorities had previously declared "vague" or "ambiguous." These included direct references to the Russian Constitution's articles on freedom of speech (Article 29), freedom of assembly (Article 31), and the right to a favorable environment (Article 42), since, according to the mayor's office, they "may contradict certain provisions" of the Basic Law. Protests "against the optimization of institutions, staff reductions, and hospital bed reductions" were also banned.
Consequently, in addition to clamping down on the Yabloko party, Russian authorities continue to hinder the nomination of popular opposition candidates from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. In particular, politician Nikolai Bondarenko fined 1000 rubles for publishing a photograph of Alexei Navalny, which the court deemed a "display of extremist symbols." This fine automatically disqualifies him from running in the upcoming elections.
