ALEXEI NAVALNY’S election headquarters looks like a set for a film about American presidential elections. The small Moscow building is bustling with young volunteers brainstorming, tapping away on their MacBooks, carrying boxes of advertising materials, signing up artists. Tagged the “Navalny Team”, they are energised with coffee and Mr Navalny’s slogan: “Change Russia—start with Moscow”.
He broke a television blockade by reverting to street politics. His election advertising has reached nearly 70% of Muscovites and his popularity rating has risen from 3% to about 20%. And although Sergei Sobyanin, the Kremlin-backed incumbent who enjoys blanket television coverage, has a rating above 50%, which could enable him to win in the first round, this outburst of political activism in Moscow is as important as the result.
