TheMunicipal initiative for charging Vladimir Putin of high treason is an initiative from council deputies of theSmolninskoye Municipal Okrug inSaint Petersburg on 7 September 2022 to call on theState Duma to chargepresidentVladimir Putin withtreason. The next day, the seven deputies who supported this initiative were called to the police, and this council was dissolved by court order a few days later. A day after this initiative, another initiative fromLomonosovsky District inMoscow also expressed discontent towards Putin and called on him toresign.
On 7 September 2022, council members of theSmolninskoye Municipal Okrug inSaint Petersburg passed an initiative criticizing Putin and his role in the "special military operation". The document called on members of theState Duma to charge Putin with treason and force his dismissal under Article 93 of theConstitution of Russia, which allows the Duma to dismiss the president based on charges of treason or other serious crimes.[6]
According to MP Dmytro Palyuga, one of the signatories of the initiative, Putin is harming the security of the Russian Federation and "we want to show people that there are deputies who do not agree with the current course and believe that Putin is harming Russia. We want to show people that we are not afraid to talk about it". Later, in a conversation withThe Insider, Palyuga specified that 7 out of 10 members of the Smolninskoye Council voted in favor of the initiative.[7]
Demilitarization is astated goal of the "special military operation". But the resulting consequences have been the exact opposite due tomilitary aid to Ukraine amounting to $38 billion, which is more than the total annual defense spending of Canada or Poland.[6]
The initiative concludes with the following: "In this regard, we ask you as deputies of the State Duma to come up with a proposal to bring charges of treason against the President of the Russian Federation in order to dismiss him from office".[11]
On 9 September 2022, two days after the publication of the initiative, the seven deputies inSmolninskoye Municipal Council that voted in favor of the initiative were summoned to the police office.[12] According to theMinistry of Internal Affairs, the deputies were accused of violatingLaw No. 32-FZ by "discrediting thecurrent government".[13][14] In addition, five deputies also received fines amounting to ₽ 44-47 thousandrubles. Then, on 13 September, the Smolninsky District Court of St. Petersburg recognized that the municipal council did not hold meetings, and dissolved the council on this basis.[15]
On September 8, 2022, a day after the initiative from St. Petersburg, the Council of Deputies of theLomonosov Municipal District inMoscow also submitted a similar initiative calling on Putin to resign from the post ofpresidency. According to the initiative, "studies show that in countries with regular changes of power, people live better and longer on average than in those where the leader leaves office only with his feet forward[a]". As such, the text concludes with the following: "In connection with the above, we ask you to resign from office due to the fact that your views and your management model are hopelessly outdated, and is hindering the development of Russia and its human potential".[16][17]
^"Сам текст обращения" [The text of the appeal itself] (in Russian). Dmytro Palyuga. September 7, 2022.Archived from the original on 24 June 2025. Retrieved2024-11-27 – viaTwitter.
