Yulia Navalnaya on the Results of the ‘Elections’

To win or lose an election, you first have to be allowed to take part in it. We were denied that opportunity. Some members of the opposition are abroad, some candidates were barred from running, and most of the votes are stolen — as we are seeing right now in St Petersburg, for example.

Is that terrible? Yes. Is it the end? No, it isn’t.

I recorded many videos in which I said: yes, these elections will be stolen. But we are looking for ways to use them because we do not accept what is happening. Because they are a way to express our protest. They will not show it to us in the official numbers, but we will know that we made our voices heard.

We can see — and anyone who follows what is happening can hardly deny it — that there are a huge number of people in Russia who oppose this government. And most importantly, there are people who became interested in politics for the first time thanks even to these pseudo-elections. Now it is important to talk to them, explain things, remind them why this matters, and try not to let that interest fade away.

I know this may seem like little consolation right now, but politics is like that: nothing may happen for years, and then everything can change in a single day. So instead of getting discouraged and giving up, we need to work even harder. United Russia was and remains a gathering of thieves and murderers — so keep telling people about it.

Our work against Putin and United Russia was never meant to last for just one year. And it does not end with these elections. We are not going anywhere, and neither are you. And we must not spend the years until the next election silently watching what is happening.

We will keep coming up with new ways to make life difficult for this government until we find one that is both effective and right. And sooner or later, you and I will take part in real elections — and we will win.