“A Just Russia – For Truth” will hold primaries for the Moscow City Duma elections

“A Just Russia – For Truth” (SRZP) has opened a recruitment of potential candidates for the elections to the Moscow City Duma (MCD), which will be held in September 2024. The party leadership launched the project at a press conference on Wednesday. Participants in the selection, as planned, will have to prove themselves with activity and initiatives before April, and in May the party will sum up the results in the primaries. The Social Revolutionaries also outlined “red lines” for the participants: even moderate rhetoric against the executive branch is undesirable, but criticism of the majority party is not forbidden.

The “Fair Candidate” project launched by the Right Russia requires full participation. Those interested are invited to register on the website and follow the Telegram channel, where they will be given daily political tasks: meet with voters, help the party collect signatures, reflect on the party bill, etc. In April-May, the activity of participants will be assessed at the primaries, where will select potential nominees to the capital’s parliament (how many there will be is not yet clear).

“We attract active citizens, including non-partisans,” explained SRZP Chairman Sergei Mironov. “If they share our views and understand that they are going to defend the interests of voters, we are ready to provide the opportunity to run for our party.” Now in the Moscow City Duma there are “formally three representatives” of the SRZP – one of them, Mr. Mironov made a reservation, is a traitor (obviously, we are talking about Mikhail Timonov, whom the Ministry of Justice included in the register of foreign agents). Therefore, the minimum program for the party is to retain three mandates in the future convocation, the leader of the Socialist Revolutionaries decided: “Well, the maximum program will be decided by voters. The more of our deputies there are, the better it will be.”

State Duma deputy and leader of the Moscow branch Dmitry Gusev, who presented the details of the project, made a reservation that under the conditions of the Northern Military District it is extremely difficult for the Socialist-Revolutionaries, “like any opposition party, to conduct an election campaign”: “We cannot criticize the authorities, because we and United Russia are in in the same trench, together we are doing one big, important thing.” However, the politician urged those Muscovites “who want to change their lives” in the city not to shy away and to join the project: “The most important thing is for everyone’s voice to be heard.” The priorities of the SRZP for this year, according to Mr. Gusev, remain assistance to SVO participants and their families, family initiatives (in Moscow – free travel and hot meals for schoolchildren) and issues related to the tightening of migration legislation.

Political scientist Sergei Markov, invited by party members to “assess the idea from the outside,” predictably praised their initiative, noting that the project combines elements of a party school and primaries. “At the request of the real party in power, which is called the presidential administration, we did a large review of the local authorities,” said Mr. Markov. “The main problem is the lack of activity on the part of the population, while those people who have potential activity cannot find channels , through which they can realize it.” The expert is confident that the SRHR project will set an impetus in this direction. Among the possible difficulties, in his assessment, is the need to “reach out to people,” that is, to effectively present the project in the information field.

The Socialist-Revolutionaries are capable of getting three mandates in the future Moscow City Duma, said Sergei Markov in response to a question from Kommersant: “At least three is almost guaranteed if there are no mistakes. Further – if they can show brightness and ingenuity.” The systemic opposition supports “the president’s policy in the main” and ensures consolidation, which causes electoral difficulties, which the “real party in power” is aware of, the political scientist explained the current situation: “Therefore, as far as I understand, in general, a decision was made not to offend anyone, to give people the opportunity stay, fix your positions.” Potentially, the seats of Yabloko (five seats in the current convocation of the Moscow City Duma), which “did not accept the consensus,” will be “played out”; in addition, the charisma of individual participants in the race can also play a role, Mr. Markov reasoned: “The project is designed to bring out bright people . The majority party has some problems with the vibrancy of the representatives, and if the SRZP can beat them on this, it can get a little more and not face stiff opposition.”

Sergei Mironov spoke about how inexperienced politicians can avoid crossing the “red lines,” and simultaneously praised Sergei Markov for his remark about the “real party in power.” The Social Revolutionaries support the president, but at the same time remain in opposition to United Russia, the leader of the SRZP emphasized: “We reserve the right to criticize the majority party, but we do not consider it possible in the conditions of the SVO to direct any criticism to representatives (of the executive.— “Kommersant”) authorities… Don’t, it’s not the time.” Therefore, the party leadership will closely monitor the rhetoric of the candidates, Mr. Mironov promised.

Grigory Leiba