One Man's Bid To Become Russia's First Black Politician

A couple of weeks ago I linked to this story from Radio Free Europe on how Russia's black population reacted to the recent visit by President Barack Obama. Today I came across the story of Joaquim Crima, a man now attempting to become Russia's first black elected official (though he himself would like to downplay any Barack Obama analogies).

Crima's story is similar to some of the people interviewed in the RFE piece - he came to Russia from his native Guinea-Bissau to attend university at Volgograd, he married an Armenian woman and settled down in the nearby village of Srednyaya Akhtuba, where he's now running for office.

Local officials say that Crima, who took the Russian first name "Vasily" as a way of integrating into his new homeland, will have a struggle to be taken seriously in his campaign and to fight perceptions that he's just trying to capitalize on the fame of Obama. Crima insists though that his campaign is for real (advocating for better roads and water supplies for the rural villages around Volgograd is a key part of his platform) and that even if he fails, one day Russia "will be ready" for their own black politicians.

Elections in the Volgograd region are set for this October, until them we'll follow the candidacy of Joaquim "Vasily" Crima.