Boris Nadezhdin, who is challenging the Kremlin , says he has gathered enough signatures to run for president in Russia.
The old local politician has become known for speaking his mind about Mr. Putin and Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Nadezhdin said he gave the electoral authorities more than 100,000 signatures they needed.
The group in charge of elections needs to look at his application now.
Vladimir Putin, the current president, has signed up to run for the election as an independent candidate in March. It is likely that he will win and serve another six years as president.
Mr Nadezhdin, 60, was a member of the local government for more than 30 years. In a country where people who disagree have been arrested or killed, he has been able to criticize Mr. Putin without getting in trouble, at least for now.
He just said the president has almost ruined the important parts of Russia’s government, and he told the BBC that if he’s chosen, his first job will be to stop the war in Ukraine.
Right after the deadline today, Mr. Nadezhdin posted a picture of himself standing next to some boxes filled with papers that have his supporters’ signatures on them.
This is something I am very proud of – the result of the hard work of many people working tirelessly for many days. He said on X (Twitter) that the things you waited for in long lines in the cold are in those boxes.
Many Russians stood in line in the cold all over the country to add their name to the list of people supporting Mr.
Vladimir Putin has been in charge of Russia’s politics since 2000. In 2020, they changed the rules so he could stay in charge past 2024.
If he wins in March, he will be the president until 2030. After that, he can serve for six more years until 2036 if he chooses to run for election again.