LONDON (AP) — Opposition activists in Russia came up with a way to get around Kremlin censorship while urging citizens to vote against President Vladimir Putin in an election next year: billboards disguised as a New Year’s greeting.
The Anti-Corruption Foundation founded by imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny paid for billboards in Moscow, St Petersburg and other Russian cities which said “Russia” and “Happy New Year.” But a website address and QR code printed on the signs led to a site titled “Russia without Putin.”
There, voters were encouraged to oppose the longtime Russian leader on March 17, the day that Russian lawmakers set Thursday for the presidential election. The website says the election is important for Putin as a referendum on whether Russians approve of his war in Ukraine, rather than a real contest for the presidency.
“We understand that free and fair elections in Russia, like in any civilized European country, unfortunately do not exist,” Ivan Zhdanov, the Anti-Corruption Foundation’s director, told The Associated Press.
Zhdanov said the billboards had been up for two days and it…
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