He just conquered Crimea. He has proclaimed himself a unifier. But Vladimir Putin's meddling in elections is another sign that his power is not as unconditional as he would have you believe.
Russia opened a fraud case into funding of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's campaign for Moscow mayor last year, in what he said was an attempt to intimidate opposition candidates ahead of local city elections.
The campaign for the 2014 Moscow legislative election began, as has become customary in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, with police raids. Last week, Russia’s Investigative Committee charged Konstantin Yankauskas, a Moscow municipal legislator and a candidate for the City Duma in the September 14th vote, and fellow election contender Nikolai Lyaskin, with “fraud,” conducting searches in their apartments. Lyaskin was released under prosecutorial recognizance; Yankauskas was sentenced to house arrest and will be unable to file his nomination papers at the electoral commission.
Russian investigators on Wednesday charged two allies of prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny with fraud linked to the financing of his Moscow mayoral bid and will issue a warrant for a third aide. Navalny associate Nikolai Lyaskin has been placed under house arrest while a second aide, Konstantin Yankauskas, has been ordered to remain in Moscow over allegations that they misappropriated public donations to Navalny's mayoral campaign last year, Russia's Investigative Committee said.
Alexei Navalny has faced a number of legal battles, including accusations of embezzlement and libel, which he denies. Now three of his close associates have been charged as well.
The first elections ever to be held for seats in the Public Chamber, a prominent advisory body, ended in a scandal this weekend as all opposition candidates were weeded out amid vote rigging allegations.
