Exiled Leader's Blockchain Vote Against Putin's 5th Term

Key Takeaway

• Exiled Russian opposition leader launches a blockchain-based referendum to protest Putin's fifth term win, using the Russia2024 app for anonymous voting.
• The initiative aims to provide Russians a secure way to dissent without fear of repercussions, leveraging Arbitrum blockchain and zero-knowledge cryptography.
• Despite having no legal weight in Russia, the effort seeks to boost public relations against Putin and showcases the potential of blockchain in secure voting systems.

Blockchain Against Autocracy

In a bold move against the backdrop of Vladimir Putin's controversial fifth term victory as Russian president, exiled opposition leader Mark Feygin is spearheading an initiative to leverage blockchain technology for political dissent. The recent election, criticized for being preordained and a farce, has sparked significant outcry. Feygin's project aims to provide Russians with an anonymous, blockchain-powered platform to register a "protest vote" against Putin's presidency. Although such a referendum holds no legal standing in Russia, it symbolizes a significant public relations effort to challenge Putin's authority and offers a safe avenue for Russians to express dissent.

Russia2024: A Beacon of Hope

The platform for this digital protest is the Russia2024 app, developed using Rarimo’s Freedom Tool and based on the Arbitrum blockchain, incorporating zero-knowledge cryptography to ensure voter anonymity. This initiative comes at a time when expressing dissent in Russia carries severe risks, highlighted by the tragic death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Feygin, a former lawyer for Pussy Riot founders and now labeled a foreign agent and wanted person in Russia, emphasizes the importance of secure, surveillance-proof methods for public expression. The Russia2024 app requires users to verify their Russian citizenship via biometric passport scans, allowing for anonymous voting. This method ensures that even without personal smartphones, Russians can participate using shared devices, mitigating the risk of governmental backlash.

Secure Voting Amidst Political Turmoil

The technology behind Russia2024 promises a secure voting process, free from the fear of repercussions. Lasha Antadze, co-founder of the Freedom Tool, asserts the system's resilience against attacks, drawing parallels to the robustness of bitcoin. This decentralized approach to voting is seen as a countermeasure to Putin's regime, especially in the wake of Navalny's death, which spurred public protests. Antadze, holding Ukrainian and Georgian passports, clarifies that the initiative is not solely driven by Ukrainian interests, highlighting contributions from Russian cryptography experts. Despite initial setbacks, such as the app's removal from the Apple app store, the team anticipates its return, underscoring the global potential of this technology to revolutionize voting and reduce election-related costs significantly.