Liberal Moscow district head and City Duma candidate holds mass appointment with constituents by standing on a car

Ilya Yashin, an opposition politician who currently leads the Krasnoselsky District of Moscow, held office hours with his constituents outside the district government’s headquarters, which also houses the local election commission. Novaya Gazeta estimated that 200 – 250 people attended the appointment.

Yashin made a speech to the crowd from the roof of a car. Witnesses said he called the event “the most massive legislative office hours” he had ever seen.

Those in the crowd attended the event to demand that Yashin be permitted to run for election to the Moscow State Duma. A Levada Center survey currently shows him leading the race for District 45: 33 percent of likely voters said they plan to vote for him. However, Yashin asserted, “the election commission is trying to reject loads of signatures” on his candidacy petition to prevent him from running.

A livestream of the event captured by Sota.Vision showed police patrolling near the crowd, but no arrests have been reported.