Anatoly Osmolovsky & the Nongovernmental Control Commission, Against Everyone, 1999, Lenin’s Mausoleum

“Against everyone” was a consistent feature of Post-Soviet ballots, having been implemented in 1991, as a large symbolic means of expressing disapproval of all available options, that could, but rarely did, trigger re-elections until being taken off all ballots in Russia in 2006. The Nongovernmental Control Commission’s 1999 action displayed the voting option as an ambivalent banner over Lenin’s mausoleum, suggesting both the refusal and seizure of symbolic power.

Anatolii Osmolovsky, who lead the action, described their motives in a 2015 interview with United Citizen’s Front, claiming the action was influenced by the writings of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, as well as Michel Foucault, attempting to lay bare the coercive nature of pre-determined political choices. Commenting on the eventual disappearance of “Against everyone” from ballots, Osmalovsky described it as the consolidation of “oligarchic capitalism”, reaffirming the vitality of voting refusal, rather than not voting, or conforming to the limited options offered by the state. The action was intended to dispel the illusion that meaningful political choice is possible, and was supposed to be followed by another, labeling public restrooms as “voting booths.” However, the first action drew attention from both the media and the police, who actively pursued the Nongovernmental Control Commission and Osmalovsky in their next action, preventing them from carrying it out.