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ANTI-PUTIN ACTIVIST PLANS RUN FOR LOCAL OFFICE ON PRO-DEMOCRACY
PLATFORM  
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June 26, 2024
People of Baikal
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_ “Today it’s difficult to talk about politics without fear, even
in the kitchen.” Interview with Irkutsk opposition activist Pavel
Kharitonenko. He's planning to run for City Council. _

Pavel Kharitonenko campaigning during his 2021 State Duma run, photo:
New Russia — Free Country

 

Irkutsk activist Pavel Kharitonenko is known as an organizer of
protest rallies, marches and pickets, for example, against corruption,
the reversal of Vladimir Putin’s sentences, for the release of
political prisoners, and also heads the city association of Irkutsk
residents of democratic views “New Russia - a free country.”
Unlike many opposition activists, 38-year-old Kharitonenko remained in
Russia after the start of the full-scale invasion. In mid-June, he
announced that he was going to participate in the city council
elections, which would be held in September. “People of Baikal”
learned from the activist how he decided to go into politics, what he
plans to do as a city Duma deputy and why he is not afraid of pressure
from the security forces.

— MANY OF THOSE WITH WHOM YOU WENT TO RALLIES BEFORE FEBRUARY 2022
LEFT THE COUNTRY AFTER THE FULL-SCALE INVASION BEGAN. WHY DID YOU
STAY?

— Firstly, I really love my country and the region in which I live.
I can’t imagine that I will no longer see the starry sky over
Baikal.

And secondly, I believe that real changes can only begin within the
country. Changes are needed. Today, a person who has an opinion
different from that imposed by the authorities is faced with a choice:
to go abroad or to go to prison. This indicates that something is
wrong with the country.

I believe that freedom of speech and diversity of opinion are the main
path to prosperity. If you allow the authorities to do whatever they
want, then even if they are the most honest and good, sooner or later
they will start making mistakes that they will have no one to tell
them about.

— WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THOSE OPPOSITION POLITICIANS AND ACTIVISTS
WHO LEFT RUSSIA AFTER FEBRUARY 2022?

“To stay or leave is everyone’s choice, and this choice must be
respected.” In addition, everyone has their own reasons: many were
threatened with real sentences, some left mobilization, some simply
did not want to stay in the country. A person has one life, and he is
free to dispose of it as he wants.

— ARE YOU FROM BAIKAL?

— I’m originally from Irkutsk, but I spent my childhood in
Baikalsk: my father worked there as the director of a tourist center.
During my school years I helped him at work; he sold strawberries
collected from his garden - almost everyone who lived in Baikalsk did
this. After school, I returned to Irkutsk and entered the history
department of ISU - international relations.

Pavel's election banner for the State Duma elections in 2021

— WHAT IDEOLOGY IS CLOSE TO YOU?

— I believe that the optimal ideology or form of government has not
yet been invented, we need to take the best of what we have and
combine them. Democracy and liberalism are closest to me. I am
generally in favor of having many parties of different persuasions in
parliament, and they need to seek compromise and the best solutions
for the country and its citizens.

— IN THE FALL, YOU GAVE AN INTERVIEW
[[link removed]] TO THE SWISS TV CHANNEL
SRF, WHERE YOU TOLD HOW IRKUTSK RESIDENTS LIVE WHO DO NOT AGREE WITH
THE MODERN POLICIES OF RUSSIA, AND STATED THAT THE REGIME IN RUSSIA
CAN BE CALLED A DICTATORSHIP - AFTER THAT YOU HAD TO RESIGN
[[link removed]] . WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW?

— Now I am self-employed. Before that, he worked in an Irish pub,
but quit so as not to expose his employer. We parted, so to speak, by
mutual consent. This, by the way, also speaks of the illness and
degradation of our country - when an employer is forced to part with
an employee due to possible pressure from the authorities.

— AMONG YOUR LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE TODAY, NOT EVERYONE BELIEVES THAT
PARTICIPATION IN ELECTIONS INFLUENCES ANYTHING. WHY DO YOU GO TO THE
ELECTIONS?

- It was a difficult decision. We understand perfectly well that the
institution of elections is almost destroyed, only loyal candidates
are allowed at all levels. Many citizens have long been disillusioned
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this procedure .

I believe that we must use every legal opportunity to influence the
authorities. I am going to the polls to show that there are still
people of democratic views who do not support today’s politics in
our country, and that we are ready to defend our rights and interests.
These people are patriots of their country. We worry about Russia and
its future, we want a happy and decent life for all of us, a peaceful
sky above our heads.

— UNTIL YOU DECIDE WHETHER TO RUN IN THE ELECTIONS AS A
SELF-NOMINATED CANDIDATE OR FROM SOME PARTY. BUT IN 2021, YOU HAVE
ALREADY PARTICIPATED IN THE STATE DUMA ELECTIONS FROM YABLOKO: YOU
WERE NOMINATED IN THE IRKUTSK SINGLE-MANDATE CONSTITUENCY. HOW IT WAS?

“I probably jumped into the last carriage of the departing train.”
Yabloko had already selected candidates for all districts, but at the
last moment something changed, and I ended up on the list of
candidates.

It was a very important experience for me: working with volunteers,
meeting with voters, debates on television and radio. During the Duma
elections, Yabloko chairman Nikolai Rybakov, a very smart and strong
politician, a true democrat, came to Irkutsk. I'm very glad to meet
him.

Meetings with voters showed that people are interested in politics.
The campaign itself took place quite peacefully, but it did not happen
without opposition from the authorities. For example, my banner [with
the inscription] “We will achieve Putin’s resignation,” which
was accredited by the election commission, was never placed. At first,
we were refused by almost all the agencies that deal with outdoor
advertising, and when we managed to come to an agreement with one of
the companies, it suddenly refused - as I later found out, due to
pressure from the authorities.

Ultimately, there was not enough support, including financial support,
to win. Many are afraid to help the opposition, despite the fact that
they share our views. Although there were people who were ready to
take the risk - great respect to them.

Unfortunately, elections in our country are not a competition of
politicians and ideologies, but a competition of capital and
administrative resources. In my district, this resource worked for the
candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. If you
compare my spending on the election campaign with the spending of the
winner, they will simply be incomparable.

— WHO ARE YOUR VOTERS AND WHY DO YOU THINK THAT THESE PEOPLE WILL
VOTE FOR YOU?

— These are completely different people, but the backbone, of
course, is people of democratic convictions and active youth who want
changes in their country. I will agitate everyone: we all have the
same problems at the city level, regardless of ideology and political
preferences.

— EVEN IF YOU BECOME A DEPUTY OF THE IRKUTSK DUMA, YOU WILL BE ABLE
TO INFLUENCE LITTLE IN THE POLITICAL SENSE: THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
IS BUSY WITH IMPROVEMENTS, NOT MAKING POLITICAL DECISIONS. DO YOU HAVE
ANY OTHER GOALS IN THIS POSITION BESIDES PUBLICLY VOICING THE POSITION
OF PEOPLE WHO ADVOCATE FOR A PEACEFUL AND DEMOCRATIC FUTURE FOR THE
COUNTRY?

— If I win, I will make every effort to return to a very simple
formula: power for the people, not the people for power.

Our city has a lot of problems, and the authorities spend money on
unnecessary events 
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are remembered only during elections or when some humanitarian aid
needs to be collected. We need to finally solve the problem with roads
and spot development. It is surprising that our Duma is full of
deputies connected with the construction business, but there are no
roads. Residential complexes are being built, because of this there
are queues at kindergartens and clinics. Instead of new clinics, we
are building new parks with a patriotic slant. But is there patriotism
in parks?

It seems to me that patriotism is love for the motherland and the
people who live here. And what kind of love are we talking about
when there is no [[link removed]] normal medical
care? When people breathe
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[[link removed]] old, dangerous public transport? When in
every downpour we practically float [[link removed]] on
the roads?

But when a high-ranking official or a foreign guest arrives, the
authorities immediately find money to decorate the streets. The latest
example is the visit of [[link removed]] Alexander
Lukashenko. How much money was spent on all these stupid banners and
stretchers? Was there really no place to spend it for the benefit of
the city and its residents? I will fight for the Irkutsk budget to be
used to improve the lives of Irkutsk residents, and not for showy
events or to advertise the work of deputies.

Irkutsk is called
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capital of mining — so why not make it its gimmick? This could bring
money into the city and regional budgets, attract investment and bring
miners into the legal field. But for this, infrastructure needs to be
developed, and the current government does not know how to develop it.
It can only prohibit or raise energy tariffs.

— AT THE BEGINNING OF 2021, YOU WERE ARRESTED FOR 20 DAYS ON CHARGES
OF ORGANIZING A RALLY IN SUPPORT OF ALEXEI NAVALNY AFTER HIS RETURN TO
RUSSIA. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS ARREST?

— I was sent to a special detention center allegedly for
“organizing” an uncoordinated rally. In fact, those rallies were
organized by Navalny’s team, but the security forces (apparently, to
be on the safe side) decided to go after all the local activists. The
trial was more like a circus. I did not admit guilt, but in the end
the authorities “appointed” me the organizer of the only rally in
Irkutsk, which was dispersed
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force.

The detention center itself is not a prison, of course, but it is a
pretty unpleasant place. People are there for all sorts of things:
from drunk driving to "hooliganism." During walks [around the
detention center yard], men from other cells and I discussed politics,
and once there was almost a rally: everyone who was there watched my
conversation with another detainee, sometimes interjecting their
remarks and supporting me. As a result, all the detention center
guards lined up along the exercise "yard," and we had to disperse. So,
probably, the main thing I got out of there is that everyone is
interested in politics. And it was also a great opportunity to read
books for 20 days almost non-stop.

Rally in defense of the Constitution, organized by Pavel in 2020

— YOU WERE FINED FIVE TIMES FOR BANNERS IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF
IRKUTSK: "PUTIN — WAR, CORRUPTION, POVERTY", "DOWN WITH THE POWER OF
THIEVES", "THE CONSTITUTION IS FOR THE PEOPLE, NOT FOR THE TSAR", "THE
GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE REPLACED, NOT THE CONSTITUTION". HOW DID IT ALL
START?

— About ten years ago, I was in business, doing electrical
installations. Everything was fine until my partner and I wanted to
participate in government procurement. I called the person listed as a
contact person in one of the lots — I wanted to clarify the details.
It was a representative of the administration of one of the cities in
our region. At the other end of the line, they explained to me quite
bluntly that this was an order “for our own people,” and if we won
the bidding, we would buy the materials not listed in the estimate at
our own expense. Then the contract would become unprofitable for us. I
was furious.

Then, when I was already working in a pub, I met a man there who said
that many things were wrong in the country, but for now he was happy
with it, because he made good money. Then I answered him: “We’ll
talk about this in a couple of years.” Exactly two years later we
met again. During this time, he saw with his own eyes how difficult it
is to conduct an honest business if you do not have connections in
power and if you do not want to pay bribes.

We hung the first banner with him - it was January 2019. Then there
were several more banners, and only at the fourth action I was
detained. At the very beginning, I was detained by SOBR - as if I were
a dangerous criminal! But the rest was quite correct: they questioned
me, took fingerprints, searched the car, confiscated the banners with
witnesses.

— AREN’T YOU AFRAID OF ENGAGING IN CIVIL ACTIVISM AND, EVEN MORE
SO, PARTICIPATING IN THE ELECTIONS IN RUSSIA IN 2024?

— Unfortunately, it is difficult to talk about politics today
without fear, even in the kitchen. But fear is a natural feeling. It
is necessary to ensure that this feeling does not cause numbness, but
helps to avoid abrupt and unnecessary steps. Therefore, despite all
the fears, you need to do what your heart tells you to do and what
your sense of duty to yourself and your Motherland drives you to do.
And it is now driving me to show people with similar views that there
is an alternative. I am sure that there are many such people in Russia
and in our native Irkutsk.

—  WHAT DOES YOUR FAMILY THINK ABOUT YOUR DESIRE TO PARTICIPATE IN
THE ELECTIONS?

“People close to me, of course, are worried, but everyone knows that
if I have made a decision, then it is useless to dissuade me. That's
why they said they would support it.

— WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO IF THE SECURITY FORCES BECOME INTERESTED
IN YOU?

— And they have always been interested in me, ever since the first
arrest. Now, perhaps less than in the times when street protests
followed one another, but they always keep an eye on me. There has
already been surveillance — both open and secret. All this will be
part of my campaign.

 

* Russia
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* Vladimir Putin
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