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In Saratov, a major city in the Volga region, Nikolai Bondarenko, a candidate for deputy from the Communist Party (KPRF), has been detained. The news appeared on his Telegram channel.
'I was detained by 10 police officers and forcibly brought to court, ' the deputy told Vedomosti.
Bondarenko has been charged under the article on displaying “extremist symbols.” Being fined or arrested under this article would mean Bondarenko cannot take part in the elections.
The KPRF has described the detention as political persecution and said the reason was a post featuring a photograph of Navalny on an account that does not belong to Bondarenko. Previously, several other potential candidates, including Boris Nadezhdin and members of Yabloko, were barred from the elections due to the same article.
Who is Nikolai Bondarenko?
Bondarenko is one of the most well-known regional politicians in the Communist Party and a popular political blogger for the party. He has served in the Saratov Regional Duma since 2017.
Bondarenko became popular in 2018 after he ate for a month on 3,500 rubles (about US$38)—a way of testing whether one could survive on a food basket priced at that amount. This followed a local official’s claim that this sum was enough to meet “the most basic physiological needs.”
Today, Bondarenko’s YouTube channel has two million subscribers, and in his videos he often criticises officials and United Russia. In this election, the Communists have put Bondarenko at the top of the territorial list for Udmurtia and Perm Krai.