Belkovsky's appointment as chief political consultant to Sobchak's campaign was announced by its head, Igor Malashenko, on Ekho Moskvy. RTVI, citing a source close to the campaign, reported that Malashenko himself had proposed Belkovsky and described the position as "chief political expert."
The day before, Belkovsky published a Facebook post about leaving the TV channel Dozhd, thanking colleagues for their work together. In the comments, when asked about the presidential campaign, he replied that he had "nothing to do" with it.
The Bell had earlier reported that Belkovsky was offered a place in Sobchak's campaign but declined, intending to run as an independent candidate. In an interview with BBC Russian, Belkovsky said Sobchak had not invited him to work on her campaign.
Sobchak announced her intention to run for president on 19 October. According to New Times, the Kremlin offered her the candidacy in exchange for a return to federal airwaves. On the same day, 25 October, Sobchak appeared for the first time in five years on Andrei Malakhov's show "Pryamoy Efir" on the Rossiya-1 channel.
1
