How presidential candidate teams are preparing for the final stage of the campaign

The work of the election headquarters of candidates for the presidency of Russia is entering the home stretch. Open pre-election receptions, focused on regular visits from citizens and collecting their appeals, were provided only by the teams of Vladimir Putin and Vladislav Davankov (“New People”). The Communist Party of the Russian Federation built its headquarters work on the basis of the Central Committee of the party. A Kommersant correspondent assessed the readiness of the headquarters for the final push a few days before the vote.

The public reception of Vladimir Putin on Pokrovka was crowded, despite it being midday on a weekday. The visitors, as Kommersant found out, mostly came “on business,” that is, with specific proposals (and some even with “instructions”) to the candidate. Initiatives and demands were steadfastly and fully heard by volunteers in blue branded sweatshirts with the inscription “Russia. Putin. 2024.” The same slogan appeared on the walls. The inscription was accompanied by multi-genre photographs of the candidate himself, as well as memorable events of his presidency.

However, the solemn atmosphere did not interfere with frankness. Thus, pensioner Nina Pavlovna casually told a Kommersant correspondent that she intended to tell the candidate about “what glitches there are in the system now.” She is concerned, in particular, about “legal arbitrariness,” “disorder in the housing and communal services system,” and the lack of due attention to Russians born in the post-war period (we are talking about the Great Patriotic War). “The president voices all these questions, but only officials do the opposite,” complained Nina Pavlovna. “We shouldn’t live like this, but we should live according to the law, honor and conscience.” The pensioner presented her message with arguments – excerpts from the speeches of the candidate himself – on four sheets of paper in advance.

Both Nina Pavlovna and other visitors assured that the volunteers who accepted the requests treated them extremely favorably. “They talked very, very well: the girl (volunteer.— “Kommersant”) – great job,” emphasized Muscovite Irina Nikolaevna, who ordered the candidate to pay attention to the situation with subsidies for housing and communal services for labor veterans.

The headquarters of the “New People” candidate Vladislav Davankov, deployed two steps from the Kremlin on Tverskaya Street, on the day of Kommersant’s visit traditionally resembled a university hall during a long break. The atmosphere was set by young people stationed everywhere and at random. Some, buried in their laptops, judging by the expressions on their faces, were clearly busy with something very important, others wandered freely between the columns decorated with photographs of the politician and his associates, waiting for the next event (following a meeting with women who found themselves in a difficult life situation, the headquarters was preparing to host a stand-up “roast” of its candidate).

“This is not just a reception,” emphasized the secretary of the Moscow branch of “New People” (the capital’s cell was largely responsible for the work of the headquarters) Evgeniy Isak: “Here we held meetings of supporters and specialized committees, master classes and expert sessions for activists, discussed and finalized the points of the program.” At the headquarters, the “New People” also accepted orders for the candidate. During the campaign, over 1 thousand requests were received here, mainly related to housing and communal services and the social sphere, Mr. Isak said: “It is important for us to be in constant contact with people, so every week the leaders of the public headquarters, Sardana Avksentieva and Stanislav Druzhinin, held meetings with residents.”

From March 14, the headquarters of “New People” will switch to 24-hour operation (now citizens are expected there from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.) and will be transformed into a “situation center” where activists will “monitor the progress of the voting” in real time. At the same time, a call center will open, where “they will help on all issues related to voting.”

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation deployed election infrastructure on the basis of the party’s Central Committee in Maly Sukharevsky Lane. “Since the party works constantly, there is no need for a separate headquarters,” Secretary of the Central Committee Viktor Tsarikhin explained to Kommersant. “The Central Committee works on a permanent basis and goes into enhanced mode during the election campaign.” Accordingly, the Communists receive citizens in a casual format, Mr. Tsarikhin added: “If you haven’t prepared any provocations, come in! You can come, ask questions, meet both State Duma deputies and party activists.”

Inside the Central Committee building it was quiet and orderly, like in Lenin’s room. The most populated room on the ground floor is the department of trade union movement and relations with public organizations, responsible, among other things, for public events. “Our goal now is to show the party program and introduce Nikolai Kharitonov,” said department head Vladimir Savin. “Have we managed to mobilize the activists? Yes, we succeeded, it started out a little hard… But in the process itself it became normal, around February we reached normal capacity.”

The legal department and information center occupied a spacious hall on the second floor for the campaign period: seven concentrated young people with computers sat on two sides of a round table. “Now the comrades are processing incoming complaints and violations, checking the campaign product,” said Viktor Tsarikhin. And by voting day, he said, an observation center will be set up here: “This room will be a key point: round-the-clock surveillance will be carried out here.”

The communists are especially proud of the corresponding infrastructure (all large polling stations are “guaranteed to be taken under control,” they promise at headquarters): “Red control” will make it possible to assess what is happening at polling stations in real time: collecting turnout, recording violations, transmitting reports – all this has been introduced not yesterday, the system is working and ready for the three-day format.” Party members, Mr. Tsarikhin emphasized, are ready to observe electronic voting: “You know our position regarding the DEG, and it does not come from unfounded statements, but from the fact that we are immersed in the issue. We also have representatives of the scientific community who understand blockchain and were at the forefront of its introduction.”

To the tactless question about the average age of both the activists and the electorate of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the staff reacted calmly: “You try to guess! 50? Well, yes, 50 is. Moreover, the completely “healthy” 50, which are represented by both older comrades and young ones.” They are addressed primarily with everyday issues, Mr. Tsarikhin pointed out: “No matter how much you talk about a radical change in budget formation, everyday issues are present… Healthcare, housing, support for youth, scientists and industry.”

The Kommersant correspondent was unable to coordinate a visit to the headquarters of LDPR candidate Leonid Slutsky, located in the capital’s party branch on Krasnoproletarskaya.

Grigory Leiba