Yekaterina Duntsova, 40, was one of the few surprises during the otherwise unexciting presidential election campaign in Russia. The founder and former editor-in-chief of a regional TV station actually wanted to run against Vladimir Putin in the elections. But in Russia, only candidates approved by the Kremlin are allowed to vote, so the authorities quickly stopped them. Duntsova comes from Rzhev, a small town between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. There she sat as an independent member of the city parliament. She is currently founding a new party, which she has called Dawn, that advocates for peace with Ukraine.
You were not allowed to vote in the presidential election. Can you still do politics in Russia if you don’t support Putin’s course?
I believe that it is very difficult to conduct Russian politics from abroad – if you do not immerse yourself in our reality and do not start from the circumstances that exist here. We have to adapt to it. I compare this to rehab exercises. You can also do this if your legs can no longer walk. If we stop doing these exercises, they never will. Constant dripping wears away the stone, or so we say. In any case, we will have some success.
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