SRZP mayoral candidate promises to protect Moscow from terrorist attacks and migrants

The Just Russia – For Truth (SRZP) party on Tuesday nominated State Duma deputy Dmitry Gusev as a candidate for the autumn mayoral elections in Moscow. Predictably, he did not have any intra-party competitors: back in February, the chairman of the SRZP Sergei Mironov recommended the candidacy of the leader of the capital branch to the party members. The election campaign of Mr. Gusev will be built around the theme of ensuring the security of Muscovites and the anti-migrant agenda.

The SRZP conference for the nomination of a candidate for mayor was held in the former building of the Krasny Oktyabr factory on Bersenevskaya embankment. Delegates and guests were greeted by a large-scale banner with the slogan of the future campaign “Gusev Protects”. Sergei Mironov, who opened the conference, liked the slogan: the party leader expressed confidence that Dmitry Gusev’s campaign would be held at a high electoral level. “He is an energetic, efficient and very competent modern politician,” the 70-year-old chairman of the SRZP described his 50-year-old colleague. “A person with an active civic position and, which is very pleasant, an active legislator. He is young, but he has very good experience behind him, including work in the government of Moscow … It is with great pleasure that I recommend the conference of Dmitry Gusev as a candidate from our party.

SRHR Co-Chairman Gennady Semigin shared Mr. Mironov’s enthusiasm, but warned that the Moscow campaign would be the most difficult of all. “There is a very big specificity, because Muscovites are intellectual people who understand what needs to be done in the country and in the city,” Mr. Semigin explained and promised that program provisions and documents developed by the party would certainly help Dmitry Gusev in the election campaign. “He is fighting a really serious person – the mayor of Moscow, who has done a lot,” the co-chairman of the party stated. “Voters appreciate what Sergei Sobyanin is doing, and he has a very high rating.”

Delegates and guests of the conference greeted Mr. Gusev with enthusiasm, chanting his name four times in unison. The politician thanked his comrades for their ardent support and began his speech with the achievements of the metropolitan cell of the SRZP (an increase in the number of municipal deputies from 10 to 22 and the opening of new Centers for the Protection of Citizens’ Rights). He made a separate emphasis on the special operation in Ukraine and the work of Right-wing Russians in the humanitarian and legislative areas, and then highlighted the issues of fertility (according to the candidate, the number one problem for Moscow) and the participation of citizens in the digital economy.

The key points of Mr. Gusev’s election program, judging by his speech, will be ensuring the security of Muscovites (we are talking about both emergency situations and anti-terrorist and anti-criminal work), as well as the anti-migration agenda. “In order to remain the best city on Earth, Moscow must become the safest city in the world,” Dmitry Gusev said. “This became obvious on May 30, after the drone attack on the capital. How do we understand security? As protection against terrorist attacks – this is the first. Of course, this is primarily the task of the Ministry of Defense, but we believe that it is important to teach Muscovites how to act correctly in such situations. We need a public safety system.” This work should also be intensified at the system level – this concerns the work of outdoor surveillance cameras: in Moscow, according to Spravoross, they are still not enough.

“Third and most important is Moscow’s migration policy,” Mr. Gusev continued. “Why do Muscovites feel in danger in their hometown? Migrants. Migrants from former Soviet republics. After all, they are not going to Nizhny Tagil (Mr. Gusev is a native of the Sverdlovsk region.— “b”), they go here to Moscow. And what is scary: that these people live next to us, while living by their own rules. Many of them either don’t speak Russian at all or speak Russian very poorly. And that, of course, is scary. Yes, we are all happy, but migrants must live according to the laws of our Russian hostel, know our history, culture, know our language.”

The issues of coexistence with migrants were clearly of interest to the majority of those present: a piercing silence was established in the hall at these words, which was then replaced by shouts from the seats. Do we need migrants? Dmitry Gusev asked. “No!” some delegates responded. “Yes, we need! – the politician unexpectedly objected. – The main question is this: how many migrants do we need, what qualifications and what specialties. And all this can and should be calculated. We need to introduce the most stringent quotas for migrants in all sectors of the urban economy. We need only qualified specialists for a certain period of time. Arrived, worked (a year, two, three) – thank you, come on, goodbye! And then Moscow will become the safest city in the world!”

Sergei Mironov also noticed the excitement of his comrades. After listening to Mr. Gusev’s speech, he went up on stage and recalled that the introduction of a visa regime with the countries of Central Asia is a consolidated party position. “There is a lot of work, and in this regard, here is the toolkit for this work!” – concluded the leader of the party and handed Dmitry Gusev an impressive adjustable wrench of bright red color. Mr. Gusev appreciated the gift and noted that such a key can be used not only for its intended purpose: “This is a good weapon for protection.”

In the ballot, Dmitry Gusev was listed alone. Those who disagreed with his candidacy were offered to cross it out, those who agreed – to leave the form unchanged and immerse it in the ballot box. While the party members were coping with this task, representatives of volunteer organizations working in the special operation zone or helping the families of its participants rose to the stage. They turned the attention of the delegates from Moscow to Donetsk, Lugansk, Kremennaya, Mariupol, not forgetting at the same time to emphasize the outstanding moral qualities of Mr. Gusev, his merits in public work, energy and, most importantly, remarkable courage. For example, Anna Artemyeva, head of the Good and Deed Foundation in Kuban, described how the deputy fearlessly worked “not far from the enemy, who put a price on his head” in the amount of $8 million.

Ultimately, no one objected to the nomination of Dmitry Gusev for mayor: his candidacy was unanimously supported by all the delegates present. “Grow big, don’t be a noodle!”, “We are with you!”, “Health, victory!”, “Dima, brother, tear them all! (Sobyanin is beyond competition),” the party members wrote to their nominee at a special stand for collective messages.

Grigory Leiba