Duma candidate who called for Putin’s impeachment on TV accused of 'illegal' campaigning

The Election Commission of Novosibirsk has banned the distribution of leaflets and fliers in support of Parnas candidate Vyacheslav Maltsev, who is running for election to the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.

According to the Commission’s statement, police officials arrested people in the metro bearing campaign materials that did not include order and provider information. The results of a police investigation later concluded that the campaign materials had been produced illegally.

“There is no indication on the campaign materials that their production was sponsored by the election foundation [funding the party in question],” read the commission’s statement.

Maltsev enjoys the number-two spot on the Parnas ticket, second to the party's leader, former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. Some members of Parnas have opposed Maltsev's elevation within the party, expressing concerns about his anti-Semitic views.

In late August, during a televised debate among candidates running for seats in the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Maltsev openly called for the impeachment of Vladimir Putin.

“One man has fooled us into going to war with a brotherly people, and then fooled us into another war with the Sunnies,” Maltsev said during the debates. “And we get the same situation as always: the boyars are to blame—they're bad—and the tsar is good. If the tsar doesn't know what's going on in his country, we ought to lock up that tsar in the nuthouse. If he knows but doesn't intervene, he belongs in prison. If he knows and contributes to this, tsars like this should be impaled.”