Several lawmakers from St Petersburg have filed a petition in the country’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, to charge Russian President Vladimir Putin with treason and remove him from office over the conflict in Ukraine. This move drew swift action from authorities as the next day, they received subpoenas from the police charging them with discrediting the Russian armed forces.
The petition was filed on September 7, in the country’s lower house of Parliament, by a group of seven lawmakers from the Smolninskoye district, in St Petersburg where Putin grew up and began his journey in politics as the deputy mayor. The plea was originally written by Nikita Yuferyev and Dmitry Palyuga, who assert that they have acted in accordance with Russian law. Subsequently have also published their petition on Twitter, saying that Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine amounts to “treason” based on the country’s constitution.
The duo has based their arguments on four major consequences of the war – the destruction of combat-ready Russian army units, massive loss of life and injury of young and employable citizens, its adverse effect on the country’s economy, and pushing NATO’s eastward expansion. During an interview, Yuferyev clarified that they do not see NATO’s expansion as a threat to Moscow, but it is an attempt to appeal to different groups in the country and convince them to call an end to this invasion.
A part of the petition filed by the lawmaker duo from the Smolninskoye district read, “We believe that the decision made by President Putin to start the special military operation is detrimental to the security of Russia and its citizens…We ask you to initiate a treason charge against the president of the Russian Federation to remove him from office.”
Notably, half of all the members in the St. Petersburg’s council belong to Putin’s party, United Russia; these members did not show up for the voting on the submission of the petition, said Yuferyev. Out of the 20 members, only ten councillors were present for the vote, which is enough for a quorum, according to Russian law. However, ultimately only seven lawmakers approved the petition with three abstentions, which was a majority among the councillors present.
Reportedly, a second municipal council in Moscow’s Lomonosovsky district also voted on a similar petition criticising Putin’s rhetoric regarding the conflict and called for his resignation. “The rhetoric you and your subordinates use is full of intolerance and aggression,” read the statement. It added, that while Russia is threatening the world with nuclear weapons, its people will once again be feared and hated. The petition also urged Putin to step down and called his views and model of governance “hopelessly outdated”.
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Since late February, the beginning of the invasion, Putin has drawn a lot of international condemnation and criticism for his actions but this is seen as both a bold and symbolic move against the Kremlin. The State Duma is controlled by Putin’s United Russia, which gives the authors of the petition very little hope that this plea would be acted upon. However, the lawmakers have indicated that this plea has a symbolic goal to show people that there are a significant number of Russians who do not agree with the current course of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A day after the document went public, both Yuferyev and Palyuga were reportedly summoned by the local police via a text message asking them to testify on the charges filed against them for discrediting the Russian armed forces and government. In an interview, Yuferyev indicated that they are sure they have not violated the law and that everything is written in accordance with the Constitution. He added, “Of course, we live in a country where even if everything is done legally, but there is a desire to punish us, it will be done”, and that they can manage a 50,000 rubles fine.
In March, the Russian parliament passed legislation which would impose a jail term of up to 15 years for those intentionally spreading “fake news” about the country’s army, which has since reportedly been used against those contradicting the Kremlin and its rhetoric about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Additionally, Moscow also introduced an article which makes “public action aimed at discrediting the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation” punishable by fines and jail terms of up to five years, depending on the severity of the action committed.
