Ksenia Sobchak 2018 presidential campaign

Ksenia Sobchak speaks with a pensioner during a trip to Yekaterinburg on December 16, 2017

Kseniya Sobchak's presidential campaign includes opening regional headquarters and holding meetings with voters in different cities. The opening of the first regional headquarters was held on 29 November 2017 in Rostov-on-Don.[8] At one point during the campaign, the headquarters was vandalized, with even graffiti which included words such as "Jew is not a President" being scrawled on a wall.[9]

Ksenia Sobchak's campaign manager is Igor Malashenko.[14] In 1996, Malashenko worked in the election staff of Boris Yeltsin, where he was engaged in working with the media.

Andrey Movchan and Vladislav Inozemtsev were responsible for Sobchak's economic program.[15]

Also involved in the campaign was Vitaly Shkliarov, who had experience working as an advisor for political campaigns abroad (including campaigns for Angela Merkel, Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders).[16]

Sobchak's chief political consultant was her colleague from television channel TV Rain Stanislav Belkovsky.[17]

Sobchak's press secretary was Ksenia Chudinova.[15]

Political consultant Vitaly Shklyarov was responsible for Sobchak's online campaign. Videos and the YouTube channel are managed by filmmaker Sergey Kalvarsky. Rustem Adagamov is responsible for the social media campaign.[18][15]

Alexey Sitnikov was initially responsible for collecting signatures and working with volunteers, however, he and his team soon quit.[19]

Sobchak is a supporter of free-market capitalism and privatization. Outlining her economic views, she writes:

"Russia is a country of a free economy with a strong state sector. All large state corporations should be privatized with antitrust restrictions. The state should not control any sectors of the economy, the state's share in enterprises and industries should be limited to breaking up monopolies. Private property should be protected by law, the review of any ownership and nationalization are possible only on a reimbursable basis on the basis of independent market valuations. Reform of tax and regulatory legislation and practices should stimulate the development of private entrepreneurship, small and medium-sized businesses, technological and innovative development of enterprises, education. The list of licensed branches of the economy should be significantly reduced."[20]

Sobchak describes herself as a patriot and a nationalist. However, she believes that much of the patriotism in Russia today is artificial. She writes, contrasting patriotism unfavorably with the situation in Israel: "Israel, in my opinion, is a hymn to the power of the human spirit... Patriotism, not imposed from above, but born within a person. And that's another amazing thing. This sense of the importance of your life for the state [in Israel] is created by many more small, as if imperceptible actions... And these little details are much more valuable than all the spirit-lifting speeches on May Day and Victory Day. And I sit, listen and feel bitter from the fact that in my home country all this is not".[21]

Sobchak describes herself as a feminist. In her manifesto, she derides the lack of women's representation in industry and politics. "Almost 500 heavy professions in Russia are officially closed to women. But among all the others - the salary of a woman is almost 30% less than that of a man. Among the most important companies in the country, women head only about 5%. ... In any case, half the country's population deserves a female voice for the first time in 14 years in these allegedly male games."[20]

Ksenia Sobchak said that the unconditional return of Crimea to Ukraine is impossible.[22] However, she also said that, having annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, Russia violated the 1994 Budapest Memorandum; she claimed on 24 October 2017 that "Under these agreements, we agreed that Crimea is Ukrainian, which is the most important to me". Sobchak stressed that she did not consider the issue with Crimea resolved. "I believe that these things need to be discussed, it is very important to discuss them....look for some ways out."[23][24] She also added that "the most important thing that Russia and Ukraine should do now is to restore our friendship at any cost."[23] Simultaneously she suggested to hold a new referendum on the status of Crimea after "a broad and equal campaign."[25]

Sobchak has said that if she becomes president, she will remove the body of Vladimir Lenin from Red Square, since, in her opinion, this is an indicator of a "medieval way of life in the country... so the corpse of Lenin must be removed from Red Square."[26] Sobchak's proposal has led to widespread criticism, with Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov stating: "It's tragic for the country when Ksenia and the like appear, who do not respect the will of this great country."