MOSCOW/YEKATERINBURG — Opponents of President Vladimir Putin say elections in Russia are rigged in favor of his ruling party and are instead holding their own Internet contest to choose a “shadow parliament” they hope will reinvigorate the flagging opposition movement. Putin has dismissed those who took part in the biggest protests against his 12-year rule this year and last as “chattering monkeys”, but has said the movement may produce civic leaders. But while the Internet election has generated a buzz of excitement among Muscovites plugged into Russia's opposition-oriented blogosphere and independent media outlets, few Russians outside big cities know the vote is even happening. The 211 candidates standing include student activists, entrepreneurs, a former investment banker, bloggers, a socialite restaurateur, an author and politicians of every stripe. Veteran opposition leaders such as former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov and former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov will compete with a host of lesser known contenders. Nearly 160,000 people have registered for the weekend vote that will elect a 45-member Coordinating Council in what some backers call “primaries” for a “shadow parliament”. Organizers hope the election will help counter accusations that the opposition protest movement is leaderless and adrift. Ilya Segalovich, a co-founder of Russia's popular home-grown Internet search engine Yandex, helped design a web-based platform for the vote - becoming the highest profile Russian businessman to openly side with the opposition. On Facebook, many have swapped their profile pictures for one of them holding open their passport - one way to register for the vote, which is open all Russians 18 and up. Another way is to wire a symbolic sum, as little as one rouble ($0.03), to organizers who rely on banks to verify voters' identities. But it is unclear what role will be played by the council and critics have dismissed the vote as a popularity contest. In a nation of more than 140 million, the relatively small number of voters risks playing into the hands of Putin supporters who have dismissed his critics as “Internet hamsters” and wealthy urbanites out of touch with the majority. The Kremlin says it will ignore the opposition vote, but cyber attacks on the vote's website, legal pressure on organizers and mud-slinging documentaries on pro-Kremlin television suggest the authorities are not indifferent. Federal investigators Wednesday opened a criminal investigation into potential fraud by vote organizers. Critics say Putin has clamped down on dissent since starting a six-year term in May, with new laws increasing fines for disorder and protest leaders facing possible prison terms. — Reuters
