The Pacifist Politician Hoping To Change Russia

Her bid to run against Russian President Vladimir Putin in a March election was rejected and she has since been branded a "foreign agent".

But the journalist and former local deputy Yekaterina Duntsova is defiant, saying she still intends to "change" Russia by developing a pacifist opposition movement.

Even though almost all Russian opposition figures are either living in exile or in prison, the 41-year-old is hoping to play a role in the political world.

"I tell myself: who else if not me?" she told AFP in an interview.

Duntsova, a mother of three, was completely unknown in November 2023 when she announced she wanted to run for president with the slogan: "Let's give our country back its future!"

She wants a peace deal with Ukraine, the liberation of political prisoners, reforms of the executive power and the judicial system, and the abolition of repressive laws passed to silence any public opposition.

She saw her presidential bid rejected by Russian election officials over supposed "errors" in the paperwork.

The experience has not put her off.

"Ordinary people have followed me, people who feel there could be an alternative, a hope," she said, adding that she had received "hundreds of messages of support" on social media.

"For all these people, it was important to know that there were many of them because until then they thought they were alone," Duntsova said.

In December 2023, she announced plans to launch a political party "to preserve this community".

In January, her supporters chose to name the party "Rassvet" (Dawn) -- a name that she said is "positive, pacifying and giving hope".

On May 1, the party held its first congress in Golitsyno in the Moscow region, with 148 people from 50 Russian regions taking part.

One month later, Russia's justice ministry put Duntsova on a list of "foreign agents" -- a method used to silence dissident voices in Russia.

Russian law bans "foreign agents" from running for any kind of election or taking part in election campaigns.

But Duntsova is not giving up.

"I am no longer afraid," she said.

"Under the law, a political party as a whole cannot be considered a foreign agent. The majority of our supporters have stayed with us. We will continue!"

Among her supporters are many young people like Vladislav Fomin, a 22-year-old student.

"I'm not afraid. When you really love your country, you should not stop at the obstacles the authorities put in your way. Even with these restrictions, we keep working," he said.

Another activist from Rassvet, Ivan Polushin, a 19-year-old student, said he was happy he had found "people with similar political convictions".

Duntsova said she hoped that Rassvet "will continue to develop civil society" in Russia and raise awareness among compatriots who think only of "home, work and seaside holidays".

No change is possible "if people do not take part in elections" as candidates or voters, she said.

Her own story is one of political awakening.

After growing up in the small town of Rzhev around 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of Moscow, she worked for 17 years as a journalist in a local television station founded by her husband.

The station was forced to close in 2022, she said, without giving details.

She got into local politics and was elected to the local council in 2019, serving until 2022.

She worked on numerous environmental projects while in office.

"We do not want people to think about leaving the country. We want them to build homes, to work, to have children if they want.

"For us, patriotism is love and prosperity and not sacrifice like the state wants," Duntsova said.