(Reuters) – According to the online SOTA news channel, Igor Girkin, a well-known ultranationalist who is currently in custody in Russia awaiting trial for inciting extremism, has announced his nomination for the 2024 presidential election. In August, Girkin stated from custody that he believed he would make a better president than Vladimir Putin, whom he sarcastically described as “too kind”. These remarks were considered ironic and he is not viewed as a serious contender for the presidency.
SOTA posted a video on its Telegram channel of Oleg Nelzin, who it described as co-chair of the Russian Movement for Strelkov, reading a letter from Girkin at a news conference. The letter instructed his followers to establish a headquarters and begin collecting signatures for his candidacy. Back in September, supporters of Girkin stated that his criminal investigation had been extended until December 18th.
Girkin, who was denied an appeal against pre-trial detention in a Moscow court in August, is most well-known in the West for his conviction in absentia by a Dutch court for his involvement in the shooting down of a Malaysian passenger plane over eastern Ukraine in 2014. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has emphasized that Putin has unparalleled support and would win by a large margin if he ran for re-election.
Elaine Monaghan, reporting from Washington, contributed to this article. Clelia Oziel provided editing services.
