Russian police are raiding Alexey Navalny's offices on charges of ‘illegal campaign work.’ Here's why that's bunk

In Moscow, Novosibirsk, and other cities across Russia, the police have been raiding Alexey Navalny’s campaign offices on various pretexts, often confiscating equipment and printed materials. The reason usually offered by law enforcement is that they’re responding to “illegal campaign work.” Meduza takes a closer look at this bogus charge.

What the Russian authorities are saying 

No official announcement preceded the new crackdown on Alexey Navalny’s campaign offices, but police across the country began acting in concert on July 5. In Novosibirsk, the authorities evacuated Navalny’s office because of a supposed bomb threat. In Moscow, police said they were responding to a dispute over the office-space lease. Officers have cited various reasons when raiding Navalny’s different local headquarters, but the most popular justification seems to be that they’re investigating “illegal campaigning.” According to the newspaper Vedomosti, city officials nationwide have denied Navalny’s activists demonstration permits for precisely this reason, insisting that they are trying to stage rallies in violation of Russia's laws on election campaigning. 

Why campaign work right now can’t be “illegal”

In one case, police actually charged Navalny’s team with a specific misdemeanor: violating Russian Administrative Code 5.10 (campaigning before the start of an official campaign period, or in a place where campaigning is prohibited). The key language here is “before the start of an official campaign period,” because charging someone with this misconduct says they broke Russia’s election laws.

Russian election law states unequivocally, however, that it applies only during official election periods. Late last month, Russia’s Central Election Commission issued a special statement about Navalny, highlighting that the 2018 presidential election hasn’t yet been formally announced, and it won’t be until December 2017. The federal commission said explicitly that everything Navalny’s activists are currently doing falls “outside the scope of regulations set down by election legislation.” In other words, it’s currently impossible for Alexey Navalny to be guilty of “illegal campaign work,” but try telling that to the Russian police.