Opposition activist Navalny declares intention to contest Russian presidency in 2018

MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. Opposition figurehead Aleksey Navalny has declared the intention to contest the Russian presidency in 2018.

"In a little more than a year from now the country will see a presidential election. It took me a while to figure out if I should participate," Navalny said in a video message placed on the website of his nomination campaign. "I have arrived at the conclusion I should. I will participate in the Russian presidential election race."

Navalny believes that such a decision would be useful for the country and for each specific individual, including those who do not share his ideas. He promised to present a decent program for the nation’s development to the electorate.

Navalny’s lawyer Vadim Kobzev has told TASS his client faceds no legal obstructions to running for president at the moment.

"Navalny’s conviction in the slander case has been canceled. As for the Yves Rocher affair, the gravity of the offence committed is medium and no hindrance to participation in the election race, either," he said.

The sole factor that may bar Navalny from the 2018 election is his conviction in the Kirovles affair. The lower instance court’s verdict has now been overturned by the Supreme Court, which ordered retrial. It is already in progress in a court in the Kirov Region. Kobzev said the defense was determined to prove the defendants’ innocence and hoped for the full acquittal and termination of criminal prosecution.

For now only one more Russian politician, former leader of the Yabloko party, Grigory Yavlinsky, has declared his wish to seek the Russian presidency.