Municipal deputies in Moscow and St. Petersburg demand Putin’s resignation

Nearly two dozen municipal deputies in Moscow and St. Petersburg have signed a petition demanding Vladimir Putin’s resignation as president. Shared by St. Petersburg councilwoman Ksenia Thorstrom, the document says, “We, the municipal deputies of Russia, believe that President Vladimir Putin’s actions harm the future of Russia and its citizens.”

Last week, municipal deputies in Moscow’s Lomonosovsky District also demanded Putin’s resignation. In St. Petersburg’s Smolninskoye District, meanwhile, deputies called on federal lawmakers to open a treason case against President Putin in order to remove him from office for launching the invasion of Ukraine. Though the calls for treason charges carry no legal weight, police later charged five of the Petersburg deputies with “discrediting” Russia’s armed forces.