- Title: Russia's Navalny pushes ahead with his campaign despite obstacles by authorities
- Date: 30th May 2017
- Summary: TULA, RUSSIA (MAY 27, 2017) (REUTERS) VIEW OF LENIN SQUARE MONUMENT TO COMMUNIST LEADER VLADIMIR LENIN SIGN ON BUILDING READING (Russian): 'TULA IS A HERO CITY' PEOPLE GATHERED OUTSIDE LOCAL CAMPAIGN OFFICE OF RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER ALEXEI NAVALNY YOUNG PEOPLE WEARING T-SHIRTS WITH SIGN READING (Russian): 'NAVALNY 2018' (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) COORDINATOR OF NAVALNY'S CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS IN TULA, DMITRY NIKOLAEV, SAYING: "We all gathered here because all other town venues, over 27 of them, refused to host this event. We got the latest refusal at 8.30 am. So, that's why everything is being done so urgently. We brought everybody here to open the headquarters. The campaign office is not big. We don't know how many people it can house, but we will try to welcome as many people as possible." PEOPLE OUTSIDE OFFICE NAVALNY SPEAKING TO PEOPLE/CROWD LISTENING POSTER ON WALL READING (Russian): 'NAVALNY 2018' AND (English): '2018.navalny.com' VARIOUS OF NAVALNY WELCOMING VOLUNTEERS, SHAKING HANDS WITH EVERYONE ELDERLY MAN AND WOMAN TALKING YOUNG PEOPLE TAKING PICTURES NAVALNY ENTERING STAGE VOLUNTEERS LISTENING NAVALNY SPEAKING, VOLUNTEERS RAISING HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER, ALEXEI NAVALNY, SAYING: "It cannot be that the population of the country that rolls in oil money, lives in poverty. (CAMERA PULLS OUT) It just means the money was stolen." VOLUNTEERS LISTENING/NAVALNY SPEAKING NAVALNY SEEN ON MOBILE PHONE VARIOUS OF MEETING IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER, ALEXEI NAVALNY, SAYING: "This is definitely a deed because they (authorities) came to him twice and threatened to put pressure on his business. We see that they always come and threat. And if you say "No" to them, then nothing happens to you in 99 percent of cases. But one should have enough courage to say "No". And then they go away." CAMPAIGN LEAFLETS, BADGES AND STICKERS ON TABLE STICKERS READING (Russian): 'TIME TO CHOOSE' VARIOUS OF PEOPLE TAKING LEAFLETS AND STICKERS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER, ALEXEI NAVALNY, SAYING: "I'm very pleased with how it all went in Tula in terms of how many volunteers came, what the atmosphere of the meeting was like. There were more people than we have expected. We do a limited distribution. We don't invite people in general, we invite volunteers only. But, of course, I'm irritated with the local authorities who organised such a chase after our headquarters and push us out from everywhere. We had 28 refusals." CAMPAIGN POSTER ON WALL WITH PORTRAIT OF NAVALNY READING (Russian): 'NAVALNY 2018. TIME TO CHOOSE' NAVALNY POSING FOR PICTURES AND SELFIES WITH VOLUNTEERS PEOPLE OUTSIDE CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) TULA RESIDENT AND NAVALNY'S CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEER, IVAN, SAYING: "I'm tired to live in poverty... and problems. (JOURNALIST ASKING OFF CAMERA (Russian): "ARE YOU SURE THAT ALEXEI WILL BE ABLE TO RAISE THE COUNTRY?") I'm very sure. (JOURNALIST ASKING OFF CAMERA (Russian): "AND HOW IT WILL BE?") As for now nobody else is doing anything, everybody just sits waiting for crumbs from above. I'm fed up with that." WINDOW OF HEADQUARTERS WITH SIGN READING (Russian): 'NAVALNY 2018' (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) TULA RESIDENT AND NAVALNY'S CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEER, IVAN, SAYING: "Mainly young people support him, of course. Perhaps many of them are sceptical, but in general there is a positive attitude. As for results, I personally don't have a goal to see Alexei Navalny a president. For me this is all about fighting for our freedom. It is the most important." PEOPLE LEAVING HEADQUARTERS MAN READING CAMPAIGN LEAFLET VOLUNTEERS OUTSIDE HEADQUARTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) TULA RESIDENT, VLADIMIR, SAYING: "I think the country must get out of a deadlock where it is now. Somebody needs to support us. A lot is unclear in the country, especially corruption that we have. It makes us worry very much because of the future of our grandchildren and other people." NAVALNY LEAVING HEADQUARTERS, VOLUNTEERS APPLAUDING HIM
- Embargoed: 13th June 2017 12:46
- Keywords: Russia presidential election opposition Alexei Navalny campaign regional office Tula
- Location: TULA, RUSSIA
- City: TULA, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA0016J153YF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny hit the campaign trail and headed to the Russian city of Tula on Saturday (May 27) to open his election headquarters.
Though the polls are ten months away and no other politicians announced their intention to run for presidency, Navalny had been busy touring the country for the past several months.
But everywhere he went he encountered problems and the most common of them was to find a venue for campaign headquarters.
Russian provincial city of Tula, 180 km (110 miles) south of Moscow, was not an exception.
Navalny's campaign staff said they contacted owners or managers of 28 premises there asking if they could rent the space for a meeting with supporters. All of them said "no" citing various reasons for turning the request down.
"I'm very pleased with how it all went in Tula in terms of how many volunteers came, what the atmosphere of the meeting was like. There were more people than we have expected. We do a limited distribution. We don't invite people in general, we invite volunteers only. But, of course, I'm irritated with the local authorities who organised such a chase after our headquarters and push us out from everywhere. We had 28 refusals," Navalny said at a meeting with his campaign volunteers.
About 300 people, most of them high school students, crammed into a small premises in a residential house in the city's outskirts.
"Mainly young people support him, of course. Perhaps many of them are sceptical, but in general there is a positive attitude. As for results, I personally don't have a goal to see Alexei Navalny a president. For me this is all about fighting for our freedom. It is the most important," said Ivan, a Tula resident and Navalny's campaign volunteer.
Navalny has not been registered as a candidate in the next year's presidential election, and may be barred from running because of a conviction of embezzlement that he said was politically motivated.
Over the past months he has opened campaign headquarters in 44 cities stretching from Vladivostok in Russia's Far East to Pskov in the West. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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