Editor’s Note: Ekaterina Kotrikadze is a news director and anchor for the independent Russian TV channel Dozhd (TV Rain). They couldn’t win elections, but they could participate, they could speak to independent media and convey their ideas to a significant audience. Thousands of people protest against the parliament elections in Moscow, on December 24, 2011. The Central Election Commission of Russia, of course, did not allow Nadezhdin to participate in the elections. While we cannot make the upcoming elections free, we can cover this circus as honestly as possible.

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Persons: Ekaterina Kotrikadze, Kotrikadze, Read, Vladimir Putin, Ekaterina Kotrikadze Denis Kaminev, Putin, Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Nemtsov, Yuri Kadobnov, Kara, ”, Alexey Navalny, Boris Nadezhdin, Alexander Zemlianichenko, Russia — Organizations: CNN, Faculty of Journalism, Moscow State University, Union of Right Forces, Getty, Putin, Commission, YouTube Locations: Russian, Europe, Netherlands, Russia, Moscow, AFP, Ukraine, Amsterdam