The Central Election Commission launches a series of educational events on the occasion of its 30th anniversary

The Central Election Commission (CEC) will hold a series of events in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Russian electoral system. Thus, the State Historical Museum will open a free exhibition about the history of democracy in Russia, and another exhibition will show archival photographs – for example, from the presentation of the first presidential certificate to Vladimir Putin in 2000. According to the Chairman of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, the celebration is planned to be completed before the start of the presidential campaign, which starts in December. Experts disagree about the connection between the educational campaign and the 2024 elections: on the one hand, it is aimed at legitimizing this campaign, and on the other, departments like to celebrate anniversaries and emphasize their importance for the state at different stages of its development.

Ella Pamfilova presented the plan for the anniversary events at a press conference on September 20. The CEC considers the birthday of the electoral system of modern Russia to be September 24, 1993, when President Boris Yeltsin issued a decree on the formation of the Central Election Commission for the State Duma elections. They took place on December 12 of the same year, simultaneously with elections to the Federation Council and a popular vote on the draft new Constitution. Opening the press conference, Mrs. Pamfilova recalled that the last 30 years are only part of “the long journey of establishing democracy in the country.” “And we decided to make the most of this anniversary as an excuse to show our electoral system in all its diversity from the point of view of the development of electoral processes,” she explained.

The series of festive events will open with the exhibition “The Right to Choose. A Brief History of Russian Democracy” in the State Historical Museum. According to the head of the Central Election Commission, this joint project will unite in one space museum objects and archival documents that reveal the history of the formation of the institution of elections in Russia. “In criticism of our opponents, our country is always presented as some kind of totalitarian monster throughout its history, literally from the first days to the present,” noted the director of the Historical Museum, Alexey Levykin. “But if you turn to our history, you suddenly see that this the country is unique from the point of view of the participation of the masses, the population, the people.” The exhibition will last until November, admission to it will be free, Mr. Levykin added.

On September 22, a joint photo exhibition of TASS and the Central Election Commission “30 years of the Russian electoral system: traditions and innovations” will open on Nikitsky Boulevard in Moscow, which will tell about voters, candidates and election organizers, the voting process and significant moments in history. TASS General Director Andrei Kondrashov admitted that it was very difficult to select “the most characteristic photographs” from thousands of photographs, and described some of them. Thus, in one of the frames, visitors will see how, in 2000, the then chairman of the Central Election Commission, Alexander Veshnyakov, issues Vladimir Putin a newly signed certificate of the President of the Russian Federation. “There is another predecessor (Ella Pamfilova.— “Kommersant”) “Vladimir Churov, who teaches photojournalists how to properly photograph the election process,” said Mr. Kondrashov.

Also on September 22, the educational marathon of the Russian Society “Knowledge” and the Central Election Commission “Elections in Russia: History and Modernity” starts. It includes a series of lectures from leading experts in the field of electoral law, the first of which will be given by Ms. Pamfilova. In addition, a series of films “From the Assembly to the Central Executive Committee” is planned as part of the marathon, said Znanie general director Maxim Dreval. And on September 24, the Rossiya 1 TV channel will air the documentary film “Choice” prepared by VGTRK.

In addition, as Kommersant previously reported, on September 25, in all Russian schools, “Talking about Important Things” lessons will also be dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the electoral system. According to the scenario developed with the participation of the Central Election Commission, schoolchildren will first be told about democracy and the importance of participating in elections, and then they will be invited to take part in a conditional vote.

Ella Pamfilova clarified that the festive events are planned in such a way that they can be completed before the start of the presidential campaign in December, and during these three months the CEC plans to tell Russians as much as possible about what the modern electoral system is. “There are a lot of stereotypes, a lot of negative patterns that are emerging today, but we just want to show what it really is, what kind of system it is,” Ms. Pamfilova emphasized.

According to political consultant Evgeny Minchenko, the CEC’s efforts to popularize the history of elections in Russia and the presidential campaign have a direct connection: “I think the key task is to legitimize the presidential elections.” The result of the upcoming campaign is “clear and predictable,” but it is very important to show that everything is following the procedure, everything is transparent and legitimate, the expert explains.

Political scientist Alexei Makarkin, on the contrary, does not see such a direct connection. In his opinion, the presidential campaign, even without the anniversary events of the Central Election Commission, is valuable and significant for people. Interest in the Central Election Commission and its history on the part of ordinary citizens is not very great; journalists, experts, political strategists, scientists and participants in the electoral system are mainly interested in this, Mr. Makarkin notes. And all of the above events fit into the context of celebrating anniversaries and milestones, which is becoming popular among various government agencies, the expert believes: “For quite some time now, departments have been paying great attention to their history. This gives them additional respectability and allows them to be reminded of their significance, rootedness and relevance to the state at different stages of history.” In this regard, the Central Election Commission is more difficult than others, because it is a young body, because neither in pre-revolutionary Russia nor in the USSR were there any analogues of the current Central Election Commission, summarizes Alexey Makarkin.

Elena Rozhkova