Acting Governor Mikhail Kotyukov headed the list of United Russia members in the elections to the City Council of Krasnoyarsk

United Russia (ER) put forward a list of candidates for deputies of the Krasnoyarsk City Council, the first line in which was taken by the acting governor of the region, Mikhail Kotyukov. This is an atypical situation: at municipal elections, unlike regional ones, the role of “locomotives” is usually played by mayors, not governors. But it is important for Mr. Kotyukov to make the authorities in Krasnoyarsk loyal and “shine” before his own elections, the expert explains.

On Sunday, July 16, the conference of the regional branch of United Russia approved the list of candidates for deputies of the city council of Krasnoyarsk. Its head part included Acting Governor Mikhail Kotyukov, State Duma Deputy Yuri Shvytkin, Mayor of Krasnoyarsk Vladislav Loginov, Speaker of the City Council Natalia Firulina, and Deputy of the Regional Legislative Assembly Elena Penzina.

“In the conditions of the current difficult historical stage in our country, a cohesive, unified command of power is needed,” Mr. Kotyukov himself explained the decision to head the list. This is the first time something like this has happened in the region, and it emphasizes “the special importance of the capital of the region and the municipal government,” Ms. Firulina added.

Recall that in parallel, Mikhail Kotyukov is running for the post of head of the Krasnoyarsk Territory: in April, in the status of temporary acting on these duties, he replaced Alexander Uss, who moved to the Federation Council. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democratic Party, Just Russia – For Truth (SRZP), New People, Motherland and the Greens put forward their candidates for governor, five of them are current deputies of the Legislative Assembly, and one is a former one.

Typically, governors act as “locomotives” in the elections of deputies at the regional level. For example, this year they head the lists of United Russia in most regions where they elect new convocations of legislative assemblies, with the exception of Khakassia and the Ulyanovsk region (they are led by communists), the Yaroslavl and Ivanovo regions (there is no head part), as well as the Trans-Baikal Territory (there is a list senator Bair Zhamsuev and State Duma deputy Andrey Gurulev).

In elections to the city councils of regional capitals, city governors traditionally act in this capacity. In particular, in Maikop the list of United Russia is headed by mayor Gennady Mitrofanov, in Abakan – by Alexei Lemin, in Volgograd – by Vladimir Marchenko, in Yekaterinburg – by Alexei Orlov. In Belgorod and Ryazan, the first numbers are the vice-speaker of the regional duma, Lyubov Kireeva, and the rector of the medical university, Roman Kalinin, and in Tyumen, the former mayor and ex-senator, and now a deputy of the city duma, Stepan Kirichuk. And only in Arkhangelsk, as well as in Krasnoyarsk, is Governor Alexander Tsybulsky running at the head of the city list. In Yakutsk and Magas, United Russia has not yet put forward its candidates.

In the last Krasnoyarsk elections in 2018, United Russia lost to the Liberal Democrats, gaining only 25.7% of the vote on the lists (against 28.1% for the Liberal Democratic Party). However, thanks to single-mandate members, United Russia still received the largest faction, which now has 18 deputies. The Liberal Democratic Party has nine mandates, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation has four, the SRZP and the Greens have one each. Three more mandates are currently vacant. 36 deputies of the City Council of Krasnoyarsk are elected according to a mixed system: 18 by lists and 18 by single-mandate constituencies.

In addition to the United Russia, candidates have already been nominated by the Liberal Democratic Party and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. The list of Liberal Democrats is also headed by “locomotives”: party leader Leonid Slutsky, former American prisoner Viktor Bout, head of the LDPR faction in the regional legislature Alexander Gliskov and State Duma deputy Sergei Karginov. The Communists, on the other hand, do without such prominent figures: there is not a single acting deputy on their list.

“Mikhail Kotyukov’s participation in the municipal elections is an extraordinary case,” says Krasnoyarsk political scientist Alexander Chernyavsky. If the result turns out to be unconvincing, then the reputation of Mr. Kotyukov may suffer, the expert warns.

According to political scientist Rostislav Turovsky, the nomination of Mikhail Kotyukov in the municipal elections is a political move: “The positions of the team of the ex-governor Uss are strong in the city government, Kotyukov intends to become more actively involved in city politics in order to make the authorities in Krasnoyarsk loyal.” In addition, from an electoral point of view, this is an additional “flare” in the city, where Mr. Kotyukov still needs to work on his popularity, the expert adds.

Valery Lavsky, Novosibirsk; Andrew Ashes