More Local Russian Lawmakers Urge Putin To Step Down

Russia's military failures in its war with Ukraine are stirring new opposition to President Vladimir Putin, according to two local politicians who are taking a stand against him.

Photo Insert: The lack of a quick victory, the inability to take Kyiv, and now the successful counter-offensives by Ukraine while Russia has lost so many troops and so much equipment has generated anger and discontent that Putin's opponents are trying to harness.

The lack of a quick victory, the inability to take Kyiv, and now the successful counter-offensives by Ukraine while Russia has lost so many troops and so much equipment has generated anger and discontent that Putin's opponents are trying to harness, Matthew Chance, Katharina Krebs, and Rachel Clarke reported for CNN.

"There is a point where both liberal groups of people and pro-war groups of people can have the same goal. The goal can be for Putin to resign," said Dmitry Palyuga, a local politician in St Petersburg, Putin's hometown, who called for the president to be impeached.

While liberals like him had opposed the invasion of Ukraine on humanitarian and legal grounds, Palyuga told CNN he now saw an opening to get more support.

“We wanted to target some people who supported Putin before and now they feel betrayed," he said.

"The Russian army is being destroyed right now. So, we lose people, we lose weapons and we'll lose our ability to defend. ... Even Russian propaganda cannot hide it, that [the] Russian army is being defeated in Ukraine."

Palyuga said Putin's newest critics are being very careful to stay within the letter of the law. Ksenia Thorstrom, a municipal deputy or local councilor also in St. Petersburg, bought into that approach. "One of the things that [a] municipal deputy can do is making this public statement," she told CNN.

"We don't really have authority or power to do anything -- even on a local level, we are very much opposed by the "Yedinaya Rossiya" [Putin's United Russia party]. Even simple initiatives like bicycle lanes, for example, they are opposing us.

"None of my initiatives has ever been accepted. But I can do the public statements and that's what I did." Ksenia Thorstrom is now in Finland. She said she would be more afraid if still in Russia. Thorstrom circulated her own version of Palyuga's petition to fellow lawmakers and now has dozens of signatures, she said.

While Palyuga has zero expectation that national politicians inside the Duma, Russia's Putin-controlled parliament, will take up his cause, he already claims some success. Putin's United Russia party holds power in the State Duma, the country's lower house of parliament.

"We wanted to show people that they are not alone, that there are other people and even councilors who are against this military operation and against Putin and we want to unite people and to give them some hope," he said.

Since he first called on the parliament to impeach Putin, Palyuga said he had received many messages of support with people pledging money to pay fines and even offering to hide him if necessary. But what he hasn't got was the expected torrent of hate.

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