Already more than half of Russian governors head branches of United Russia
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Last week, four more governors joined the ranks of secretaries of regional branches of United Russia (UR). At the helm of the local cells of the party in power are now more than half of the current heads of constituent entities – 47 out of 89, although four years ago there were none. The “secretization” of the governor’s corps is taking an evolutionary path and will continue, they say in the United Russia leadership. This helps concentrate power, which is especially important for “newcomers” at the head of regions, the expert explains.
On November 14, the Presidium of the General Council of United Russia appointed Vladislav Kuznetsov, Vitaly Khotsenko and Mikhail Kotyukov, elected in September, as acting secretaries of the regional branches of the party. In addition, the Perm cell with acting status was headed by Governor Dmitry Makhonin (elected in 2020). Previously, he was a non-party member, but on November 14, together with Mr. Kotyukov, he received a party card from the hands of United Russia Chairman Dmitry Medvedev (Messrs. Kuznetsov and Khotsenko were already members of the party before that).
“This is (a party position.— “Kommersant”) is not just some kind of additive, as is sometimes interpreted in various sources,” Mr. Medvedev emphasized. “This is independent work. This is the strength of the ruling party: you can achieve a connection of possibilities.” Among the tasks facing the newly minted branch leaders is “of course, preparation for the presidential elections,” added United Russia General Council Secretary Andrei Turchak.
According to Kommersant’s calculations, the regional cells of United Russia are now led by more than half of all Russian governors – 47 out of 89. At the same time, the combination of gubernatorial and party posts is a relatively recent trend. Both in the 2000s and in the 2010s, local United Russia organizations were mainly led by legislators: parliamentary speakers, their deputies or faction leaders, sometimes by senators or State Duma deputies. Senior officials rarely headed party cells. One of the few was the head of the Krasnodar region, Alexander Tkachev, who in 2005–2007 and 2010–2015 served as secretary of the political council (at that time the highest party position) of the regional organization. After being appointed Minister of Agriculture, he ceded this post to the first vice-speaker of the regional legislative assembly, Nikolai Gritsenko (he still holds it).
In general, representatives of the executive branch became United Russia secretaries rather as an exception. For example, the Chechen United Russia from 2012 to 2019 was headed by Prime Minister Abubakar Edelgeriev, who was replaced by the Speaker of Parliament Magomed Daudov, and the Yamal ones from 2011 to 2013 were led by the first vice-governor Vladimir Vladimirov, who was replaced by the first vice-speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Alexey Sitnikov.
The situation changed in 2019, when, on the initiative of Dmitry Medvedev (he called on local leaders not to “hide” and stop the practice of self-nomination in elections), 13 heads of constituent entities immediately took leadership positions in regional branches. In 2020, 12 more governors headed party cells, in 2021 – three, and in 2022 – 14. In 2023, Astrakhan Governor Igor Babushkin followed their example.
In a number of regions there was even a “change of shifts” of head secretaries. Thus, after the resignation of Tambov Governor Alexander Nikitin in 2021, his successor Maxim Egorov “inherited” the party post (Mr. Nikitin himself, before being appointed acting governor in 2015, led the cell as the speaker of the regional Duma, and in 2020 he headed it as governor) . In a similar way, party functions were transferred to the new heads of the Ryazan and Kirov regions, Pavel Malkov and Alexander Sokolov, after the resignation of Nikolai Lyubimov and Igor Vasiliev in 2022. True, unlike Mr. Egorov, they became secretaries after winning the elections.
At the same time, there remain regions where heads have not yet taken over the leadership of United Russia cells. First of all, these are subjects that are headed by oppositionists: Khakassia (the secretary is the speaker of parliament Sergei Sokol), Chuvashia (speaker Leonid Cherkesov), Khabarovsk Territory (State Duma deputy Maxim Ivanov), Oryol and Ulyanovsk regions (speaker Leonid Muzalevsky and first vice speaker Vladimir Kameko). In the St. Petersburg organization, after the election of long-term speaker of the legislative assembly and head of the department Vyacheslav Makarov to the State Duma in 2021, leadership passed not to the non-partisan governor Alexander Beglov, but to State Duma deputy Sergei Boyarsky. In Moscow that same year, ex-Moscow City Duma deputy Andrei Metelsky was replaced not by Mayor Sergei Sobyanin (a member of the bureau of the Supreme Council of United Russia), but by Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy. In Kamchatka, Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Sivak received the secretarial post in 2021, and in the Ivanovo region in 2020 – the head of the Ivanovo district Sergei Nizov.
Last week, non-governors were also appointed secretaries of two more cells. The Trans-Baikal branch of United Russia was headed in acting status by the head of the Trans-Baikal Railway, Vladimir Antonets, who replaced the State Duma deputy, ex-chief of the same railway, Alexander Skachkov. According to Kommersant’s sources, the federal leadership of United Russia considered non-party governor Alexander Osipov as the new secretary, but he refused this offer. And the Yaroslavl cell in the status of acting was headed by the Minister of Regional Development Evgeniy Churkin. According to Kommersant’s interlocutors, the non-partisan head of the region, Mikhail Evraev, was also offered to become a secretary, but he “decided to remain the “governor of all Yaroslavl residents,” explaining that Churkin is completely his person and he is responsible for him.”
Among the secretaries of United Russia regional branches there are real “long-livers”. Thus, in Tatarstan, the party cell has been headed by State Council Speaker Farid Mukhametshin since 2003 (that is, actually since its creation), and the transfer of this position to the head of the republic, Rustam Minnikhanov, is not yet being considered. Kommersant’s sources explain that public party work was initially the responsibility of the parliament and its speaker, and Mr. Minnikhanov is already involved in the work of United Russia, including at the federal level.
Deputy Secretary of the General Council of United Russia Sergei Perminov told Kommersant that the appointment of governors to the highest party posts in the regions is an “evolutionary process” that will continue. “The party has an understanding of which colleagues will be ready to lead their cell and when,” he added, but refused to specify the possible number of future governor-secretaries.
According to political scientist Rostislav Turovsky, the practical effect of combining gubernatorial and party posts “exists and is important”: “New governors, often unfamiliar with the region and its elites, are usually appointed as secretaries. The new governor’s leadership in the party allows him to strengthen his position in the region and avoid competition with local elites.” The combination is aimed at concentrating power in the hands of the governor; this simplifies and optimizes regional governance, which is what both the center and the governors themselves strive for, the expert believes.
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