Russian war critic Boris Nadezhdin is an awkward challenge for Putin

Over President Vladimir Putin’s 24 years in power, a systemic opposition has been wiped out in Russia with the Kremlin’s political opponents either jailed or in self-imposed exile or, in some circumstances, even dead.

But a challenger to Putin’s long reign in office has emerged from an unlikely place — within Russia’s existing political establishment — in the form of Boris Nadezhdin.

Standing on a platform for peace with Ukraine, friendly and cooperative global relations and fair elections, as well as a fairer civil society and smaller state, Nadezhdin submitted his bid to run for the presidency Wednesday.

The Kremlin has sought to dismiss Nadezhdin’s potential to upset an election whose win for Putin is seen as a done deal. Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told CNBC Thursday that “we are not inclined to exaggerate the level of support for Mr. Nadezhdin.”

Nonetheless, the fact that Nadezhdin is even attempting to stand for election on an anti-war platform — and has garnered a certain level of public support — shows there is public appetite for his views, and that’s likely to make the Kremlin nervous after it has staked its political legacy and future on a victory in Ukraine.

Russian political analysts point out that Nadezhdin, 60, isn’t a political outsider or upstart but part of Russia’s political establishment — a former lawmaker who had been a member of political parties that endorsed Putin’s leadership at the start of his political career over two decades ago.

His recent foray into frontline politics, and bid to run for the presidential election, has seemingly been tolerated by Russia’s political leadership and domestic policy makers, despite the misgivings of some pro-Kremlin activists, with Nadezhdin seen previously as a…