Representatives of the regions were told about the features of the 2024 presidential campaign

Over the weekend, a seminar for representatives of regional election commissions and vice-governors on domestic policy ended in the Senezh management workshop near Moscow, sources close to the Kremlin’s internal political bloc told Kommersant. The main topic was the upcoming presidential elections: special attention was paid to their legitimacy and the possible risks of outside interference. Now people are not in the mood for a “political show,” so the campaign should take place calmly, and its ideological support should be built along the lines of “hope, confidence, future,” Kommersant’s interlocutors convey the main theses.

The seminar in Senezh took place from November 16 to 18. At such events, organized by the presidential administration (PA), the results of past elections are traditionally summed up and plans for upcoming campaigns are discussed. This time the main topic was the presidential elections scheduled for March 2024. As a source who was present at the section for representatives of election commissions told Kommersant, they discussed ensuring freedom of voting and protecting it from the influence of internal and external factors. Election commissions are part of a unified system of public power, recalls Kommersant’s interlocutor. At the seminar, according to him, they talked primarily about readiness for the main elections in the country and about their purity. For example, the benefits and possible risks of tools such as online voting and Mobile Voter were discussed, including the issue of eliminating the possibility of double voting. The point is not in the large number of people who want to vote many times, the source explains; even one or two “double” votes will have a negative effect in terms of information support. There was also talk about the inadmissibility of using administrative resources and coercing voters. There will be attempts to “dirty democratic procedures” from abroad and from “foreign agents,” the meeting participant emphasizes, so it is necessary to eliminate any roughness in the work of electoral mechanisms.

The legitimacy of the elections was one of the main topics in the conversation with the lieutenant governors. According to one of Kommersant’s sources, they were made clear that “you can sacrifice anything, but not legitimacy,” by which the AP means trust in elections in Russian society. It is clear that our elections are not recognized as fair abroad, so we need to focus on the opinion of Russians, explains Kommersant’s interlocutor. As for the target indicators, they have not changed: as Kommersant previously reported, the AP will strive to at least repeat the record result of 2018. To do this, it is desirable that in March 2024 the “main candidate” would be supported by more than 75% of voters with a turnout of 70% (in 2018, Vladimir Putin received 76.69% with a turnout of 67.54%). Speakers at the seminar emphasized that one should strive for these figures only if they are confirmed by sociology, so that voters do not have the feeling that expectations do not coincide with the recorded result. However, Kommersant’s interlocutors believe that the 2018 result will most likely be surpassed: in society, against the backdrop of the Northern Military District, consolidation around power is high, and there are more voters due to new regions.

According to sources close to the AP, it was also stated at the seminar that society does not need “political shows” now. “In 2018 there was a request for a vibrant political campaign, but now there is none. We are in a situation of a special military operation. Therefore, the campaign should be simple and understandable,” one of Kommersant’s interlocutors explains this thesis. Moreover, elections should have a “psychotherapeutic character”: people are waiting for the SVO to end, they are tired, so it is important to show that nothing threatens their ordinary life, and the country has a clear future; it is necessary not to hype, but to reassure voters, the source explains this thesis.

In an ideological sense, preparations for voting should be built along the lines of “pride, confidence, hope,” it was said at the seminar. According to two sources, the line of confidence is interpreted by some representatives of the AP political bloc as a line of faith. Kommersant’s interlocutors also say that there are plans to shoot videos on these topics with the participation of citizens supporting the government.

Finally, the vice-governors were told about topics that foreign ill-wishers might try to use to destabilize the situation within the Russian Federation. In particular, this is the topic of interethnic relations, the severity of which was demonstrated by recent spontaneous protests in Makhachkala. Also included in the information risks are the sentiments of women whose loved ones are in the North-Eastern Military District zone: it is necessary to be in contact with them, pay attention to their problems and help solve them, explains Kommersant’s interlocutor. In addition, according to two sources, it was mentioned at the seminar that a negative information background could be created by Russians who left the country and who still have relatives and friends here. However, according to two other Kommersant interlocutors, this problem is not considered a serious risk. “In general, all risks are small against the backdrop of general consolidation,” explains one of Kommersant’s sources.

Andrey Vinokurov, Anastasia Kornya