Vladimir Putin has gone unchallenged for more than two decades, but former journalist and local politician Ekaterina Duntsova is planning to run against him as an independent anti-war candidate in Russia's 2024 presidential election.
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00:00 Yekaterina Dontsova is planning to run as an independent anti-war challenger to Vladimir
00:06 Putin in next year's presidential elections.
00:10 "Today, the situation in Russia is such that those people who could represent citizens
00:16 with democratic views and values in the upcoming elections are either in prison, have their
00:21 rights restricted, are under criminal prosecution or have chosen to leave.
00:30 The idea arose why there shouldn't be a woman as president, as a symbol of softness,
00:36 kindness and feelings."
00:40 Dontsova says she's aware of the risks of being openly critical of the Kremlin.
00:46 She's already been interrogated over her opposition to the war in Ukraine.
00:51 And shortly after she made an appeal for campaign funds via social media, transfers to her bank
00:57 account were blocked.
00:59 Despite this, Dontsova has had to count her claims that she's a Kremlin stooge, a so-called
01:05 spoiler candidate, either drawing votes away from the main opposition or acting as a democratic
01:12 fig leaf for Putin.
01:14 Political analyst Abbas Galyamov says she has a strong political record in her home
01:19 region where she was a member of the local parliament.
01:23 "I have no grounds to say that Dontsova is not acting sincerely.
01:30 Well, she has a good reputation.
01:34 She just showed herself as a driven person there with sincere ideas, as a person who
01:40 cares about the realization of ideals, not opportunistic politics."
01:46 Vladimir Putin is widely expected to win another term as president.
01:51 It would be his fifth.
01:57 He announced his candidacy after handing out military awards, implicitly linking his re-election
02:03 bid to the war.
02:04 And yet such a strategy could misfire, with a challenger who's also focusing on the war,
02:10 says Abbas Galyamov.
02:11 "The risk of her gaining too much support and votes is great, especially if during her
02:17 election campaign events on the front deteriorate.
02:20 And this can't be ruled out, which means that anti-war sentiment will increase.
02:24 And then the protest voters will go to vote for her for the grievances."
02:30 Yekaterina Dontsova can count on local support here in Rzhev, where she made her name as
02:35 a TV journalist.
02:37 But nationally, she's relatively unknown.
02:40 State media is ignoring her.
02:42 In order to run, Dontsova needs the support of a 500-strong special interest group and
02:48 300,000 unique voters from at least 40 regions of Russia.
02:55 "The prospects may not be very good, because we all see what happens to people who declare
03:01 their position one way or another.
03:05 From being recognized as a foreign agent to being prosecuted.
03:09 I want to believe in the best outcome.
03:11 In fact, if something like that happens, it will only prove that the current authorities
03:16 have a weakness, and I think they don't want to show it."
03:20 And even if she manages to officially register, observers say there's little doubt over the
03:26 outcome of the election.