The United Russia fiasco: the time for victors appointed by Putin is over. Pension rallies and the pre-election agony of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Communists of Irkutsk, pensioners of Transbaikalia

The head of Khakassia, Viktor Zimin, initially had a very low rating, says one of RBC’s interlocutors close to the Kremlin.

What was unexpected for the Kremlin was the entry into the second round of the acting governor of Primorye Andrei Tarasenko, says one of RBC’s sources close to the Kremlin. Tarasenko was appointed acting head of the region on October 4, 2017 and was serving his first term. The Kremlin believes that Tarasenko’s victory in the first round was prevented by the consequences of Typhoon Jebi, which hit the region in early September, says RBC’s interlocutor. Due to flooding and road closures caused by heavy rains, in a number of settlements people simply did not come to the polling stations, which affected the turnout (30.2%) and Tarasenko’s results, explains an RBC source close to the Kremlin.

Predictions for the second round

Tarasenko has a high chance of winning in the second round, the interlocutor continues, since he is a new person for the region and fatigue has not yet accumulated regarding him. As for Zimin, Shport and Orlova, the situation here is more complicated: practice shows that current regional heads often lose in the second rounds, he reminds.

Among the current governors, Tarasenko has the best chance of winning in the second round in Primorye, political scientists are sure. “But Shport, Zimin and Orlova will have to work hard to win,” political scientist and former employee of the presidential administration Andrei Kolyadin told RBC. Political scientist Grigory Kazankov agrees with him: he recalled that Tarasenko in Primorye received almost twice as many votes as his main competitor.

Andrey Tarasenko (Photo: Yuri Smityuk / TASS)

Political consultant Dmitry Fetisov is convinced that the incumbent leaders have a great chance of winning in the second round. “The majority of opponents are not serious, and the second round is the result of a protest vote, and not their merit,” he says.

Research Director of the ISEPI Foundation Alexander Pozhalov suggests that in the Khabarovsk Territory, the LDPR nominee Sergei Furgal, “an experienced politician and, importantly, a local deputy, under whom United Russia already vacated a single-mandate election district in 2016, has a better chance of winning.” to the State Duma."

A paradoxical situation has developed in Khakassia and the Vladimir region, the expert is sure. There, “no-name” candidates, without managerial experience, whose role before the elections seemed technical, entered the second round with the governors. “The governors’ headquarters have the opportunity to play on this opposition, but in Khakassia this is unlikely to help Zimin,” Pozhalov concluded.

Worsening results of United Russia

Against the backdrop of the pension reform, United Russia worsened its results in almost all regional legislative assemblies. Campaigns for regional parliaments took place in 16 regions.

The strongest drop - by 24.64% - was recorded following the results of the campaign for the Legislative Assembly of the Ulyanovsk region. If in the last elections in 2013 the party in power received 57.62% of the votes here, now, according to preliminary data, it is 32.98%.

The results of United Russia fell by more than 20% in Khakassia, where the list of the party in power was headed by Viktor Zimin, and in the Ivanovo and Kemerovo regions.

Compared to the last elections to the legislative assembly, United Russia lost more than 15% in Bashkiria, and more than 10% in the Trans-Baikal Territory, Vladimir and Irkutsk regions.

In six more regions - Buryatia, Arkhangelsk, Rostov, Smolensk, Yaroslavl regions and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug - the drop ranged from 2 to 8%.

A source close to the leadership of United Russia told RBC that the party's rating was hit by the pension reform, which was supported by United Russia members - as a result, the level of their support dropped in all regions, and based on the results of elections to legislative assemblies, one can expect a drop in results by an average of 10 -15% compared to the expectations that were in the party in the spring.

But in two regions United Russia acted contrary to the general trend and increased the result. In the elections to the Legislative Assembly of Yakutia, the party, according to preliminary data, received 50.04% against 47.41% in the last elections. In Kalmykia, the increase is even more impressive - 68.58 versus 51.34% according to the results of the previous campaign.

At the same time, in three regions in the elections to the legislative assemblies, United Russia lost the campaign to the communists: in the Irkutsk, Ulyanovsk regions and Khakassia.

The Irkutsk region was initially considered one of the most problematic regions for the party, RBC sources in United Russia previously told. The positions of the communists are traditionally strong there, and the region is headed by a governor from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

United Russia received 27.83% of the lists, while the Communists received 33.94%. The party hoped that it would form a majority in the legislative assembly at the expense of single-mandate members, but these expectations did not materialize, a source in the leadership of United Russia told RBC. Based on the results of the campaign, the head of the regional branch of the party in power may be replaced, RBC’s interlocutor clarified.

Photo: Evgeny Biyatov / RIA Novosti

In Khakassia, United Russia received 25.26%, and the Communists - 31.01%; in the Ulyanovsk region, United Russia received 32.98%, and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation - 36.25%. In Khakassia and the Ulyanovsk region, United Russia also failed to form a majority in legislative assemblies, taking into account the election results in single-mandate constituencies. There was no majority in the Trans-Baikal Territory either, a source close to the leadership of United Russia told RBC.

Also, the party in power lost the elections to the Krasnoyarsk City Council (25.71%), where the LDPR came in first place (28.12%). Secretary of the General Council of United Russia Andrei Turchak, in a conversation with journalists, said that, despite the loss, United Russia members generally improved the result in Krasnoyarsk: if in the City Duma of the last convocation the party had 12 mandates, now there are 17.

Another loss at the city level was the Novgorod Duma: the party in power took second place (24.39%), losing to the communists (30.57%).

The only capital where an opposition candidate won the mayoral elections is Yakutsk. A representative of the Russian Revival Party, Sardana Avksentieva, was elected mayor there, the head of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, told reporters on the evening of September 9. According to political scientist Pozhalov, the only reason for her victory in the elections was a reaction to the exclusion of the popular opposition city politician, deputy of the Yakut Legislative Assembly and major businessman Vladimir Fedorov from participating in the elections. After being removed from the elections, Fedorov switched to direct support for Avksentieva, even going with her to meetings with voters, the political scientist recalled. Her competitor was the chairman of the City Duma, United Russia member Alexander Savvinov, who was not very well known to voters, Pozhalov noted.

In Khakassia and the Ulyanovsk region, the defeat of United Russia in the elections to the legislative assemblies was primarily predetermined by the population’s fatigue with the current governors, Pozhalov believes. For the same reason, United Russia received less than 30% in the Vladimir region.

In the Irkutsk region, the factor of “regional patriotism” among the elites and the active part of the population could have played in favor of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Pozhalov believes. On the one hand, the “Varangian” Sergei Sokol was added to the United Russia list, who immediately began to be perceived by the elites as a likely future governor instead of the communist Sergei Levchenko. On the other hand, the topic of Levchenko’s team played into the hands of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, apparently perceived by voters as confirmation of the strength of the communists and the weakness of United Russia, says the political scientist.

Experts interviewed by RBC agreed that another reason for the loss of the party in power in the legislative assemblies was the public reaction to federal reforms. We are mainly talking about pension reform, the support of which had a negative impact on the party and strengthened the influence of parties opposing the reform, Kolyadin clarified. Political scientist Kazankov also mentioned the increase in VAT and the general deterioration in the quality of life in the regions. “Just look at the rising prices for gasoline,” he told RBC. “The elections to the legislative assembly were determined by the protest vote of dissatisfied people.”

Outcome evaluation

The election results turned out to be better than expected, a source in the leadership of United Russia told RBC: “We thought that we would go neck and neck with the communists everywhere.”

Turchak called the results of the campaign “realistic.” “Not a single party in power won after raising the retirement age, so the results were considered successful,” he emphasized.

The Kremlin also believes that in the context of the pension reform, from which the party took the blow, its results can be considered worthy, a source close to the presidential administration told RBC. The Kremlin sees the main result of these elections as the fact that not a single opposition force was able to lead the protest against raising the retirement age - the rallies of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation did not attract many participants, and Navalny’s supporters became even less numerous, he added.

“The Devil’s Dozen” games with benefits

Another result of the elections was a change in the list of parties that are exempt from the need to collect signatures for elections to the State Duma. So far, four parliamentary parties have been exempted from collecting signatures: United Russia, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democratic Party, A Just Russia, as well as the Civic Platform, Patriots of Russia, the environmental party Greens, the Growth Party, and the People's Freedom Party. (PARNAS), “Civil Power”, “Communists of Russia”, “Yabloko”, “Motherland” and the Russian Party of Pensioners for Justice.

According to the law “On Basic Guarantees of Citizens’ Electoral Rights,” in order for a party to receive this privilege, it must be included on the lists of at least one municipal representative body of power in the region.

PARNAS, “Civil Force” and “Civic Platform” lost their quota. And the Party of Pensioners and the Communist Party of Social Justice received quotas for elections to the State Duma.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, which openly called for voting against each other's candidates, now announce agreements to form coalition governments in those regions where their candidates managed to win the gubernatorial elections. Making a statement about the agreements reached, the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov assured the media that both parties supported each other’s candidates, apparently forgetting how on the eve of the second round the Vladimir regional committee stated that “the absence of a candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation on the ballot is not a reason to trust an outright “spoiler” ", political "weathervane", rigid anti-communist Vladimir Sipyagin (LDPR)."

Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov said that in regions where opposition candidates won gubernatorial elections, a coalition government would be formed together with representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party. “Now we will form a coalition government in Khabarovsk, Vladimir, and Khakassia. We held consultations with the leader of the LDPR, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, and came to an agreement,” Interfax quotes Zyuganov as saying.

According to him, Zhirinovsky supported the idea, proposing to do it “like in the Smolensk region,” which is led by the representative of the Liberal Democrats, Alexey Ostrovsky. In a conversation with the publication, the leader of the LDPR confirmed the agreement with the Communist Party of the Russian Federation on the formation of coalition governments in all regions led by opposition representatives.

Let us note that Zyuganov, while announcing the creation of a coalition, also assured the media that before the second round, the Communists and Liberal Democrats supported each other’s candidates. However, as the Club of Regions previously wrote, on the eve of the second round in the Vladimir region, the communists openly called for voting for the current governor, Svetlana Orlova, by posting the corresponding text on the website of the Vladimir regional committee.

“As responsible politicians, we are confident that the transfer of supreme power in the region from the current leadership to populists from the LDPR will only deepen the crisis. The absence of a candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation on the ballot is not a reason to trust the outright “spoiler”, political “weathervane”, strict anti-communist Vladimir Sipyagin, who accidentally found himself in the second round of the gubernatorial elections,” the message said. The candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Maxim Shevchenko, who was not allowed to participate in the elections, described the LDPR as “loyal and reliable assistants of United Russia.” “Vote for them as for the gopnik and wretched version of Edra,” - wrote Shevchenko on Facebook.

In turn, Zhirinovsky, speaking on Channel One, also called on voters not to vote for communist candidates: “I have one request to you: you should not support candidates from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, from communists - there can be no trust in them - nor in the candidate in the second round, not in any other elections, of which there will be many more. Show courage and will and do not give a single vote to representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.”

Let us remind you that LDPR candidates Vladimir Sipyagin and Sergei Furgal, following the results of the second round, became governors of the Vladimir Region and Khabarovsk Territory, respectively. Earlier, in the first round of the election for governor of the Oryol region, the representative of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Andrei Klychkov, won.

In Khakassia, the second round of elections will be held on October 7, and candidates from A Just Russia and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Andrei Filyagin and Valentin Konovalov will take part in it. The head of the republic, United Russia member Viktor Zimin withdrew his candidacy.

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United Russia is beginning to dismiss secretaries of regional branches of the party that received poor results in the elections. The first to leave was the head of United Russia in the Ulyanovsk region, Anatoly Bakaev. However, it is obvious that this resignation will not be the last, since the fatality of United Russia’s defeat is obvious not only in this region. She lost more than 10 large cities in the country that traditionally voted for United Russia. “Storm” tried to figure out why this happened and how the party in power and the governors intend to build a dialogue with the winners.

Not a single mandate from United Russia

United Russia lost the most cities - five - to the communists in the Amur region. IN Tynde Marina Mikhailova became mayor, with 48.33% of the votes, beating United Russia member Sergei Gulyaev, who received 29.3%. Also, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation has a majority in the elections to the City Duma of this city, where the party received 12 of 29 mandates, only five went to United Russia. Tynda is a single-industry town, considered the capital of BAM, the fourth largest in the Amur region in terms of population. It is home to just over 33 thousand people. Until now, the mayor of Tynda was a representative of United Russia.

In cities Free And Raichikhinsk The Communist Party of the Russian Federation won the elections to the city council. In the first, the result of the Communists was 33.54% against 21.53% of United Russia and, accordingly, 40.18% against 25.57%.

And mayoral elections in another Amur city - Zeya- LDPR member Sergei Gibadullin won, for whom 26.48% of residents voted, his competitor from United Russia Alexei Chaika received only 23.51%. But perhaps what is unique here is the result of United Russia in the city council elections, where the party in power did not take a single mandate. Of the 15, six seats were won by the Communists and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, two were taken by self-nominated candidates and one by the Pensioners Party. The number of residents in Zeya is small - 23 thousand people, but it is a regional center. Previously, power in the city belonged to United Russia.

In a closed city Tsiolkovsky, whose number is slightly more than six thousand people, the Liberal Democrats took the upper hand, receiving 8 out of 10 mandates. Only one went to United Russia and one went to a self-nominated candidate. The city became closed, since the 27th Red Banner Far Eastern Division of the Strategic Missile Forces was disbanded here, and then the Svobodny cosmodrome, and now the Vostochny cosmodrome, became its city-forming center. In fact, United Russia was not supported by state employees, who openly made a choice in favor of Zhirinovsky’s party.

Against pension reform

In the Ivanovo region, United Russia lost two cities - Kineshma And Shuyu. In Kineshma, the Communists defeated the party in power with a result of 50.82% against 20.86% of the vote. In the region, the city is the second in terms of population and industrial development. As local residents note on social networks, this happened for the first time since the founding of the party. Her defeat was preceded by the departure from United Russia of the secretary of the primary branch, Vadim Provorov, who resigned after the party supported the pension reform.

In the third largest city in the Ivanovo region, Shuya, the communists gained 32.7% of the votes, and United Russia only 21.9%. Neither active campaigning nor visiting receptions of citizens helped to convince the Ivanovo residents.

The party in power lost two large cities in the Samara region. IN Tolyatti the communists received 35.52%, United Russia - 28.25%, LDPR - 15.21%, A Just Russia - 13.78%. For the first time, the Communists have a majority in single-mandate constituencies: they took nine mandates, while United Russia won only eight. Thus, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation can now decide all issues without consulting the party in power.

Tolyatti is not only the largest city in the Samara region, but also in Russia - it ranks 19th in terms of population in the country. It is a major center of the automotive (AVTOVAZ, GM-AVTOVAZ) and chemical industries (Togliattiazot, Kuibyshevazot, Togliattikauchuk), as well as railway, river and road transport.

According to experts, the loss of this city by United Russia is the first step towards the loss of influence in the entire Samara region.

United Russia also retreated from Syzran. According to the lists for the City Duma, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation received 36.16% of the votes, United Russia - 34.60%, LDPR - 15.54%, and A Just Russia - 8.11%. However, single-mandate constituencies remained with United Russia - 12, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation - two, one was a self-nominated candidate.

Ulyanovsk and Novgorod also “blushed”

A blow for United Russia was the defeat in the Ulyanovsk region, where the secretary of the party in power, Anatoly Bakaev, had already resigned. According to the lists of the region's legislative assemblies, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation has more than 36% of the votes, while United Russia has 34%. True, United Russia still retained its majority due to the 10 winning single-mandate seats, while the Communists only had six.

But the elections to the City Duma Dimitrovgrad the communists won outright, gaining 53.24%, while United Russia had 21.27% of the votes. It is the second largest city in the Ulyanovsk region, with a population of over 116 thousand people. In 2014, it was recognized by the Russian government as a single-industry town with the most difficult socio-economic situation.

A major loss for the party in power was Velikiy Novgorod. In the elections to the City Duma, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation gained 30.27%, and United Russia only 24.11%. According to the results of the count, the Communists had 12 mandates, and United Russia had eight, another seven were taken from United Russia by the candidates of A Just Russia and one by the Yabloko party. Veliky Novgorod is the capital of the Novgorod region and the largest city in the region, home to 222.6 thousand people.

However, United Russia was not particularly upset about this. “There were no tragedies, they didn’t happen. Conclusions will be drawn and we will review the work of the local party branch. “Everything is going great on our regional agenda, and in general there is a very strong United Russia team in the region,” the secretary of the regional branch, Elena Pisareva, was not saddened by the results of the party in power.

An equally major loss for United Russia was the defeat in the capital of the Krasnoyarsk Territory - Krasnoyarsk. Here the leaders were the LDPR candidates, who received 28.12% of the lists, United Russia had 25.71%, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation 16%, and A Just Russia 9% of the votes. Krasnoyarsk is considered one of the most protest-protesting Russian cities. It most often hosts opposition rallies, and also actively criticizes the regional authorities and governors. The city itself is a major scientific and industrial center in Siberia. Until now, United Russia has not lost its majority in it, although representatives of other parties have already shown good results here.

In Khakassia, where the candidate for governor of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Valentin Konovalov beat the incumbent governor Viktor Zimin in the first round (44.81% versus 32.42%), United Russia lost to the communists not only the elections to the legislative assembly, but also to the city duma Sayanogorsk. According to the lists, the candidates of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation scored 31.1%, slightly more than 25.5% for United Russia and 21% for the Liberal Democratic Party. Sayanogorsk is the third largest city in the republic, with about 50 thousand people living in it.

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“The entire Samara region will be demolished”

The head of APEC, Dmitry Orlov, believes that United Russia and the governors will now have to negotiate with the victorious opposition. “In my opinion, coalition strategies will be in demand in a number of subjects, which the regional authorities will have to implement in order to ensure the course of development of the country taken by the president and the solution of current issues,” the expert told Storm.

According to him, United Russia, perhaps, with the assistance of the federal center, will need to enter into a coalition with those parties that will be ready to support the course of the country's development and the policies pursued by the regional or municipal authorities in the subject.

Orlov notes that, of course, this will slow down the adoption of some decisions on the ground, which will now be more compromise. “Otherwise, for every decision of the regional government it will be necessary to form a situational bloc of deputies, and this is very problematic. Yekaterinburg lived in such conditions for a very long time, and often the adoption of many decisions there was impossible to predict, because the composition of the coalition could be different each time“, the expert argues, emphasizing that the initiator of this coalition should be “United Russia”, and the governor and the federal government should facilitate its formation.

Political strategist and former employee of the presidential administration Andrei Kolyadin believes that this situation will lead to the activation of United Russia, which will begin to work more energetically. “Of course, this will lead to administrative pressure on the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. It’s just that the authorities are used to acting this way, although it won’t help them,” the expert points out.

According to him, today's political processes have an economic reality that explains them. “There is no improvement in the lives of the population, taxes are being raised, gasoline prices are rising. Therefore, all this will allow the communists to gain serious percentages in the elections and enjoy the support of the population,” says Kolyadin, who believes that United Russia has not fully realized its defeat.

The expert admits that the authorities may begin to infringe on these cities in terms of receiving financial subsidies, but, for example, in the case of Togliatti this will be very dangerous, since the population of this city “will simply demolish the entire Samara region,” and the new governor cannot but understand this .

“They promoted the weaklings.” United Russia may lose three out of four governors

It will be difficult for governors who did not win in the first round to take revenge over the opposition September 11, 2018

In 80 regions of the country, where almost 65 million voters live, about 5 thousand elections of various levels were held. The preliminary results were commented on by Ivan Melnikov, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Head of the Central Headquarters of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation for elections:

“The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is generally satisfied with the trends that we saw on a single voting day. Today, the media cover various figures in great detail, but sometimes selectively, and speak extremely little about trends. And one of the central results of this campaign is the high level of competition that we offered to the party in power. This level has not been seen for a very long time.

We not only remain first among other parliamentary and non-parliamentary parties, firmly holding the position of an alternative center of power to the government, but we have also entered into direct competition with United Russia in a number of significant regions, winning victories over it and showing competitive percentages of votes.

This was manifested primarily in very important elections to the legislative assemblies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Among 16 campaigns, we have 3 victories with a result above 30%! The last time the Communist Party of the Russian Federation won elections to the regional legislative assembly was in 2005.

In the Ulyanovsk region, our comrades scored 36.3%, United Russia about 34%. Our percentage is 2.5 times better than in similar elections in 2013 and almost 2 times better than in the State Duma elections in 2016! In the Irkutsk region, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation gained 34%, United Russia had about 28%. The result is 15% higher than in similar elections in 2013 and 10% higher than in the Duma elections of 2016! In the Republic of Khakassia we have 31%, United Russia has 25.5%. Our comrades gained 17% more than in the same elections in 2013 and 10% more than in the 2016 Duma elections. In other regions we have 11 unconditional second places.

Of these, in 7 regions the results range from 23% to 27%:

Ivanovo region - 26.9% (in 2013 - 14.5%, in 2016 - 18%);

Republic of Buryatia - 25.7% (in 2013 - 19.3%, in 2016 - 20.6%);

Trans-Baikal Territory - 24.6% (in 2013 - 14.1%, in 2016 - 15.9%);

in the Yaroslavl region - 24% (in 2013 11%, in 2016 - 16%);

in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug - 23.8% (in 2013 - 19.2%, in 2016 - 23.9%);

Vladimir region - 23.7% (in 2013 - 13.5%, in 2016 - 13%);

Smolensk region - 23% (in 2013 - 15%, in 2016 - about 16%).

In three regions the results range from 17 to 20%: the Republic of Sakha - 19.4%, the Republic of Bashkiria - 18.76%, Rostov region - 17.1%. Here, too, the figures are higher than in 2013 and 2016. In Kalmykia they got more than 13%, and this is also a positive trend: in 2013 it was 11.4%, in 2016 – 11.7% and in the presidential elections – 11.6%.

Separately, about the Kemerovo region: here our comrades have a little more than 10%, just like the LDPR. We are separated by hundredths of a percent, and it is difficult to strictly rank this region in second or third place. What is more important here is the fact that we previously had no deputies in this area at all, but now the situation has changed.

We have only one clear third place among 16 campaigns: in the Arkhangelsk region. But this is third place with almost 19%, while neither in 2013 nor in 2016 did the party receive more than 13% here.

Thus, if we look at this struggle between party lists and party brands, we can say that we have emerged from the administrative-electoral corral, which is comfortable for the total dominance of the party in power. We have returned to a competitive range of results, which allows us to more powerfully build the parliamentary struggle and rely more reliably on public support.

If we convert percentages into mandates and look at the overall picture, we have strengthened by more than 2 times. Previously, in the 16 legislative assemblies where elections were held, we had 76 mandates, now there are 160. Separately, we should emphasize the success in the elections in single-member districts. Previously, only 13 single-mandate members were elected in the constituencies in these regions. And now – 60! Of these, 9 were conquered in the Irkutsk region, 8 in Khakassia, 7 in the Trans-Baikal Territory, 6 each in the Ulyanovsk and Smolensk regions. The dispersion in the geography of success shows both our good personnel potential and the federal nature of the mood of voters.

These same trends were no less clearly reflected in the gubernatorial elections. In addition to the brilliant result of our candidate Andrei Klychkov in the Oryol region, we have won the first round of gubernatorial elections in Khakassia and our candidate advanced to the second round in the Primorsky Territory.

In Khakassia, our 30-year-old first secretary Valentin Konovalov scored almost 45% (!) against 32.4% of the current governor Viktor Zimin. In the Primorsky Territory, our candidate Andrei Ishchenko gained almost 25% against 46.5% of the current governor Andrei Tarasenko.

In total, out of 22 election campaigns for the election of regional heads, there will be 4 second rounds (!). In two more regions, in the Vladimir Region and Khabarovsk Territory, representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia will act as rivals to government candidates. At the same time, it is quite obvious that the second round in the Vladimir region is largely the merit of the Communist Party candidate Maxim Shevchenko, who was not allowed to participate in the elections.

The party performed very well in the elections to the parliaments of the capitals. We had 12 such campaigns. We won in Veliky Novgorod with a result of 30.6%! In another 8 cities they took second place, while in 6 capitals they received from 20 to 25% of the votes: Belgorod (25%), Abakan and Maykop (almost 24%), Yekaterinburg (23%), Yakutsk (22.5%), Ryazan (20.6%). At this level of elections we also record a successful campaign in single-mandate constituencies. Previously, we had 2 such mandates for these 12 capitals, now there are 22. And the total number of mandates has increased from 37 to 64.

We were also pleased with the by-elections in the constituencies to the State Duma. There were 7 such campaigns, and we took part in 6 of them. In addition to Olga Alimova’s victory in one of the districts in the Saratov region with a result of more than 45%, in 5 districts our candidates took second place, while Tatyana Rakutina in the Amur region was only 2% behind the winner.

Thus, we see that successful results cannot be correlated only with some regional and geographic specifics, more or less successful personnel decisions, or certain features of the election system. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation as a whole, on a federal scale, has made good progress. This is a political breakthrough. Citizens appreciated our program and strong position on a number of pressing social issues. This is not only “pension reform”. It is severe, but not the only and not the last of the painful manifestations of the course. The elections showed that society is increasingly aware of exactly this.

At the same time, one cannot ignore the fact that in some specific regions government mechanisms have worked to curb an even more serious growth in the influence of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. We are talking about deception parties. Various CPSUs, Russian Communists, parties of pensioners, patriots and others - in total this time received more than usual. This means that they “bited off” more than usual from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

However, in the current conditions, the technology of fragmenting the party-political field is becoming a double-edged sword for the authorities. Voters of United Russia, in a fit of protest, quite calmly went to these deceptions, and to the LDPR, and to “A Just Russia”. Against this background, our voters were the most conscious, and we are very grateful to absolutely everyone who supported us.”

Ivan Melnikov

With September 9th just around the corner, people on TV have already begun calling on us to go to the polling stations and make our choice.

True, in many regions there is absolutely no one to choose - for example, in the Novosibirsk region, the current acting The governor from United Russia is opposed by an unpopular representative of the LDPR and two more little-known representatives of the SR and the People's Alliance.

However, in some regions, not only United Russia members and political dwarfs, but also representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, whom many consider the main alternative to the current government, are competing for governor’s positions.

But are representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation a real alternative to United Russia and is it worth giving them your vote?

Are they really communists?

Among the rank-and-file members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation there are still ideological communists, but I have not seen them among the candidates for gubernatorial posts.

Candidates from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation are either conformists and defeatists like Zyuganov, or even political prostitutes (c), who only pretend that they represent communist ideas, but in fact they are true bourgeois and serve the bourgeois government, and use communist symbols only as a cover to win over left-wing voters.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation as a whole is not a communist party at all, communist ideas are there only in words, but in reality they are pure capitalism and compromise with the bourgeois government.

The candidates from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, represented in the elections, only help to increase turnout and thereby legitimize the winners from United Russia.

And even when a miracle happens and a representative of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation wins the local elections, real politics does not change because of this, even within the region.

A striking example is the Irkutsk governor Levchenko, there is even a special about him video filmed telling what this “communist” is like. It is clear that the video was filmed by competitors and they tried to pour more dirt on Levchenko, but something tells me that there is some truth in what was said.

However, I am not a resident of Irkutsk, so let the locals judge who Levchenko really is - an ordinary conformist or a complete bourgeois.

But I can judge what has changed in Novosibirsk after Anatoly Lokot, a representative of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, won the mayoral elections several years ago. Almost nothing. After the transfer of the Novosibirsk City Hall from the hands of United Russia to the hands of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, I personally did not notice any significant changes for the better in the city.

It is noteworthy that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation did not even put up its own candidate for the election of governor of the Novosibirsk region - and this after winning the mayoral election! The question arises - why?

I see only one answer: the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a team of conformists who agree with the current government, defeatists who are unable to fight it even if they have authority, and opportunists who think only about their political career. And also the true bourgeoisie, who do their business under the guise of communist symbols and slogans - they trade them, converting the former popularity of communist ideology into political and financial capital.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation agreed to defeat by Yeltsin in 1996, and being for a long time the second parliamentary party with all the ensuing opportunities, it did nothing to really fight the bourgeois government, did nothing to promote and develop communist ideas.

And the representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, who won the local elections - Lokot, Levchenko and others - also did nothing that would significantly distinguish them from the representatives of United Russia and make them a real alternative to the Kremlin’s henchmen.

No, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is not an alternative.

Representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation simply attract supporters of left-wing views to the elections and create a false illusion of choice, the illusion of an alternative to United Russia.

And this also reveals their conformism - agreement with the current bourgeois government, assistance to this government, defeatism, an attempt to simply adapt to the situation and grab from the power pie where it is allowed.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a complete deception of the working people, because those who go to vote for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation expect decisive action to revive the socialist system and fight against bourgeois power, but in reality, representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation are simply making their political career and turning the votes they receive into their political and financial capital.

And these capitalists under communist symbols - in some places even worse than those who gathered in United Russia - are worse because they deceive the trust of the people even more, are hypocritical and discredit communist ideas, cynically using them in their own interests.

The candidates from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation are not communists, they are false communists.

And they are not any alternative to United Russia, therefore the choice that those who vote for them make in the hope of reviving the socialist system is a false choice.