Why Russian Tech Entrepreneurs Are Willing to Risk Backing Navalny
Russia Why Russian Tech Entrepreneurs Are Willing to Risk Backing Navalny (original document) A group of Russian Internet entrepreneurs has taken the unusual and potentially risky step of speaking out publicly in support of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. In an open letter distributed on Aug. 7 to local media outlets, 37 leaders of Russian Web startups said they were backing Navalny’s campaign for mayor of Moscow, as a protest against corruption and other official abuses. They said they were speaking as individuals, rather than as representatives of their businesses. “The situation in Russia is deteriorating beyond reasonable limits,” Kamil Kurmakayev, a Web entrepreneur who organized the effort, tells Bloomberg Businessweek in an interview. He says the government’s treatment of Navalny, who is running for mayor while appealing a recent conviction on theft charges, mirrors the experience of business people who see that “in Russia, the government can do anything. The