Transgender politician fails in Russian election bid

The would-be candidate has not managed to gather the minimum support to run for governor of Altai Region

Russia’s first-ever transgender candidate for governor has abandoned the idea after failing to get enough backing to get on the ballot. Yulia Aleshina (born Roman Aleshin), 31 years old, announced on Monday that she would not run for the head of Altai Region.

Aleshina, who belongs to the right-leaning centrist party Civic Initiative, announced the withdrawal of her candidature in the aftermath of Sunday’s party meeting. She revealed she had not managed to rally enough support, as in order to run for governor one must obtain the signatures of at least 502 legislators and village heads.

“Some 19 municipal deputies have expressed unequivocal readiness to put signatures in support of my nomination as a candidate for the governor post,” Aleshina said in a Telegram post.

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At the same time, she claimed that “many” others initially supported her as well, yet ultimately withdrew their signatures citing proposed legislation to impose a blanket ban on gender reassignment in Russia. That bill is currently being considered by the State Duma, having passed only the first reading. Aleshina did not provide an exact figure for the number of backers to cancel their support, nor did she identify her 19 sponsors, stating only that it would be “inappropriate in the current situation.”

The local chapter of Civic Initiative has expressed its anger over the failed bid, branding the upcoming elections “undemocratic,” as well as blasting the requirement to gather support from municipal officials. Since her bid flopped, the party will not advance a candidate for the office at all, Aleshina said.

Aleshina has repeatedly blamed her political hardships on increasingly strict LGBTQ legislation in Russia. She briefly led the local chapter of Civic Initiative in October 2022, but stepped down from the post, citing the pending law prohibiting LGBTQ propaganda which was ultimately passed by Russia’s parliament. Simultaneously, she announced the end of her political career altogether, though her statement now appears to have been premature.