Valery Badmayev. Photo (с): Badma Biurchiev. All rights reserved.Valery Badmayev, the editor-in-chief of the Sovremennaya Kalmykia newspaper, is a well-known figure in this sparsely-populated republic in southern Russia. Many locals associate his name with his 17 years of opposition to Kalmykia’s former leader Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. Badmayev stresses that he wasn’t fighting Ilyumzhinov per se, but the entire political system that has taken hold in Russia. He still believes in political struggle, actively taking part in and organising protests. During next year’s presidential election in Russia, Badmayev will campaign for Alexey Navalny. Many of his advisers were perplexed at this announcement.
As part of oDR’s series of interviews with Russian civic activists, Badmayev explained why Navalny’s reputation doesn’t bother him — and why it doesn’t matter who runs Kalmykia today.
Valery, you recently announced your plans to open a campaign office for Alexey Navalny supporters in Kalmykia. What function will it serve? Navalny’s chances at being officially registered as a presidential candidate are fairly minimal.
