Russian Politician Who Urged Putin Resign Says He Does Not Fear Reprisal

A Russian local government official who has taken the risk of calling for Vladimir Putin's resignation has told Newsweek he is not afraid of the consequences of his stance.

Gordei Nefedov was one of three deputies from Moscow's Lomonosovsky Municipal Council who voted in September to back an appeal to the Kremlin to consider the possibility of the Russian president stepping down, arguing that he has not provided stability.

"The appeal has been signed, voted upon. I have expressed myself as a deputy and as a citizen. I have no intention of going back on it," Nefedov said from Moscow. "I can't predict what will happen next."

In September, dozens of municipal deputies from Moscow and St. Petersburg called for Putin's resignation amid claims of vote-rigging in local elections and advances by Ukrainian forces in his invasion of Ukraine.

With tough anti-dissent laws, such a move risks imprisonment for those opposing the Kremlin's narrative against the invasion of Ukraine.

However, that did not deter Nefedov who, along with his colleagues, posted a protocol on the council website dated September 8, which was sent to the Kremlin. It condemned the state of Russia's economy under Putin, as well as making a dig at the length of his tenure.

The letter addressed to Putin directly, starting, "Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich," using the president's formal patronymic title, said in countries "with a regular turnover of power, people, on average, live better and longer than in those where the leader leaves office carried out in a box."

Nefedov said that the letter did not refer to the war in Ukraine because his local authority had issued a protocol condemning the invasion on March 4, for which he was fined.

But September's missive did say how the rhetoric of Putin and his subordinates "has been riddled with intolerance and aggression for a long time."

It added Russia has returned to the "Cold War era," in which the country has "again begun to be feared and hated, we again threaten the whole world with nuclear weapons.

"We ask you to release yourself from your position due to the fact that your views, your management model are hopelessly outdated and hinder the development of Russia and its human potential," the letter concluded.

Nefedov told Newsweek that the wording of his letter was "in accordance with the current norms of our country's legislation, there were no breaches of the law."

He said that his letter has received a mixed reaction from residents in his district, which has a population of around 85,000 and is located in the southwest of the Russian capital.

These ranged from those "who strongly agreed" with it, as well as those who "strongly disagreed." There were also people "who could not believe their eyes and thought it was a joke."

"For a long time, we have had a government we have been afraid of and for some reason, we have a government that is returning to the past, in which expressing your opinion is strange," Nefedov said.

"It is my opinion. I am a citizen of my country. I can express this opinion as a deputy and as a citizen."

So far, there has been no official reaction, although Nefedov said he has faced repeated attempts to serve him with a subpoena to appear at a military enlistment office as part of Putin's mobilization, announced on September 21.

As reported by Newsweek, Dmitry Baltrukov, a municipal deputy for St. Petersburg's Smolninskoe district, faces conscription after he called for Russia's parliament to remove Putin on a charge of high treason.

"When we prepared the text, we evaluated the kinds of risks we would face," Nefedov said. "Considering how our law enforcement works, perhaps there has been a delayed reaction."

Nefedov laments the strength of government propaganda, to which many Russian citizens, without access to independent information, are susceptible.

"Of course, a lot of people are afraid," he said and, until September 22, when his term ended, he felt it was his duty as a local deputy to express his opinion. He hopes that his letter "will help those who share our point of view."

"It is not possible to say whether I feel at ease as usual, but at the same time, I can't say I am afraid either," Nefedov said.

As regards what advice he would give to other Russians who want to express their discontent with Putin, he said, "I cannot tell a person what to do.

"Each person has their own threshold of what they are afraid of and what they are not afraid of."