Court bars Russian opposition leader from presidential race
MOSCOW — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was convicted Wednesday in a retrial of a 2013 fraud case and given a suspended sentence, a ruling that bars him from running for president next year and appears to reflect the Kremlin’s reluctance to let President Vladimir Putin’s most charismatic foe into the field.
Navalny vowed to keep campaigning while he appeals.
“What we have just seen is a telegram of sorts from the Kremlin, saying that they consider me, my team and people whose views I represent too dangerous to be allowed into the election campaign,” he said. “We do not recognize this verdict, it will be overturned, and … I have the right to run in the election.”
Navalny was the driving force behind massive protests of Putin’s rule in 2011-2012 in Moscow, electrifying crowds with chants of “We are the power!” and saying at one point that the protesters were numerous enough to take the Kremlin.