Esquire interview
Navalny talks about the federal parliamentary elections on December 4 in Russia and the protests that followed:
Everybody was nervous and worried, myself probably more than others, because I initiated a campaign against United Russia, the ruling party, under the slogan Party of Crooks and Thieves. The slogan appeared by accident — during a radio show, the host asked me how I felt about United Russia, and I said, Very bad. United Russia is a party of crooks and thieves. Later, I announced a poll on my blog — Do you consider United Russia to be the Party of Crooks and Thieves? — and 97 percent of 40,000 people said Yes, and away we go. From the very beginning, it was clear that the election was going to be unjust, but I really wanted to know if one could do any significant damage to United Russia by means of a campaign launched on the Internet.