Russian urbanist drops City Council bid a week after breaking his spine while fleeing police

A Russian urbanist who was campaigning for a seat on the Chelyabinsk City Council has ended his bid. Meduza reports that Mikhail Popov jumped from a second-floor window and broke his spine when police came to his home on July 13, and announced his withdrawal a week later. In a post on his Telegram channel, Popov said he could not gather the two hundred five signatures required by July 24 and would focus on his recovery, adding that politics is a marathon, not a sprint. Popov, who blogs about public transportation and urban development, had planned to run as an independent. Chelyabinsk holds its elections on September 20, Russia's unified voting day.

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