Nemtsov for Mayor of Sochi

Quite the hullabaloo surrounding the registration for mayoral candidates for the city of Sochi, which will be hosting the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.  If opposition leader Boris Nemtsov can’t win, then Alexander Lebedev is probably the second best choice … but we all know that Andrei Lugovoi will probably run away with that election hands down.  Nemtsov likely knows he somehow won’t be allowed to win, but can use the campaign platform to draw attention to his agenda.  Lebedev has proven he knows how to handle multi-billion dollar budgets, while Lugovoi’s platform is distinctly uniqueif elected, he would ensure the mayoral office would answer directly to Moscow, rather than the Krasnodar regional government.

Only in Russia can a man accused of murder achieve such popularity and then seek his next office by promising less regional authority and watering down accountability to constituents…