Two Russian candidates changed their name and physical appearance to be identical to the favorite candidate and to subtract votes.

On September 5, the candidate for the regional parliament of St. Petersburg Boris Vishnevski, from the liberal party Yabloko, he got a huge surprise when he encountered the faces of his campaign opponents. While I already knew that the two candidates had changed their names to become their namesake -a fairly common practice in Russian politics-, with the publication of the electoral poster he was able to observe that both candidates had also changed their physical appearance to look like the real Boris Vishnevsky.

In the banner you can see three almost identical faces that, added to the fact that the trio have the same name, makes the task of identifying each almost impossible for someone who does not know the original Vishnevsky in depth.

While it is completely legal according to Russian electoral laws and, at least the name change, Relatively common – according to the Russian media Meduza this is also happening in at least three districts of Moscow – the candidate opposed to the Putin regime was very unhappy with the use of this practice to confuse voters: “This is a fraud“, He denounced in statements to the French press agency. “These people participate in elections not to get elected, but to confuse voters”.

He also published a tweet in which he shows his dissatisfaction with the situation and leaves open the possibility that the photographs have also been digitally altered: “The scam continues. My “lookalikes”, which at the time of the elections became “Boris Vishnevsky”, after having changed their name and surname, have changed their appearance. They grew a beard and mustache, and I think there was some touch-up as well. See what they look like on the poster to hang in the bundles”.

We know little and nothing about the other candidates, since until the publication of this poster they had avoided campaigning and appearing in public. However, their real names are known: Viktor Bykov and Alexey Shmelev. Bykov’s previous appearance is also known, which makes the fact even more scandalous: the physical transformation was total. As can be seen in an application questionnaire published by Varhivah.net in 2017, Bykov had a full head of blond hair with no gray hair, he had no hair in his beard or mustache, and he had blue eyes..

Even though the ruling party is expected to retain a majority in parliament, in recent times there has been a significant growth of the opposition which makes the elections more contested. It is for this reason that President Putin’s party has come to this point in an attempt to sideline the opposition – in this case the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) – the greatest number of votes. In the event of an election, however contested, every voter who may be confused by this tactic is extremely valuable. The strategy also aims to make undecided voters lose the will to vote in a vicious system that could be considered undemocratic. “Every time there is an election we say it’s the dirtiest there’s ever been“, Dijo Vishnevsky to The Guardian,”I’m sure we’ll say the same in the next election”.

The elections will take place this Sunday, September 19. It will be seen that so many votes effectively take away the “doubles” from the real Vishnevsky, but whatever the end results, it is clear that this almost comical precedent will go down in history.

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