The Communist faction in the Altai Legislative Assembly was left by the third deputy in a year

The deputy of the legislative assembly of the Altai Territory, Vladimir Gromov, who recently returned from the NVO zone, left the Communist Party faction and is moving to United Russia (ER). He explained the change in political orientations by dissatisfaction with some decisions of the Communist Party. In the regional branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the deed of the deputy was called dishonorable. Mr. Gromov became the third member of the Communist Party faction to leave it over the past year, which allowed opponents of the Communists to talk about a personnel crisis in their ranks. The Communist Party does not agree with this assessment.

Vladimir Gromov announced his withdrawal from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and its faction in the Legislative Assembly of the Altai Territory on August 24, during a visit to the Barnaul branch of the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation. He stated that he did not agree with a number of decisions of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and intended to move to the United Russia.

“I saw a lot at the front, rethought a lot, understood the true essence of what was happening. Now the most important thing for our country is to unite. Today you have to decide who you are with: for the governor, Putin, United Russia, or against. There is real patriotism in this. We are not given a third way. I have made up my mind,” the deputy told Kommersant. Vladimir Gromov was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2021 from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation in the single-member constituency No. 22 (part of the Industrial District of Barnaul).

Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from United Russia Denis Goloborodko confirmed that Mr. Gromov announced his desire to join United Russia.

“Vladimir Gromov is a man of principle with a military background. I think his decision is also due to an assessment of real activities, which are carried out not only in the framework of improving the legislation on supporting the participants of the NWO, but also work with volunteer organizations to provide assistance to the fighters on the front line, and, of course, their families, ”— said Mr. Goloborodko in an interview with Kommersant.

The United Russia faction plans to consider the application of deputy Gromov to join its ranks at a meeting on August 30. In case of transition, it will increase to 33 people. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation with 20 mandates will retain the status of the second largest deputy association.

47-year-old Vladimir Gromov went to the Northern Military District as a volunteer in February 2023. On the night of July 2 he received bullet and shrapnel wounds on the territory of the Luhansk People’s Republic. “The communist carried a wounded comrade from the battlefield to the evacuation point, returned to look for other wounded, came under fire, waited it out, went back. On the way, a sniper spotted him and fired. Gromov carried a captured weapon with him, which saved his life, the bullet hit the RPG, then into the arm, ”then they told about the circumstances of the injury in the Communist Party. In mid-August, after treatment, Mr. Gromov returned to Siberia.

“Yesterday, without approaching any of us, he put his statement about leaving the faction in the box. The fact that he was disappointed in something, I read only today in the media. What to say? We, of course, regret, ”Andrey Krivov, head of the Communist Party faction in the Legislative Assembly, commented to Kommersant on the decision of his colleague. In his opinion, in relation to the party, Vladimir Gromov acted “dishonestly”, since he was elected as a deputy thanks to the nomination from the Communist Party. “If he resigned as a deputy and said: “I do not agree, I will go to the United Russia,” then I think there would be no questions for him at all,” Andrey Krivov believes.

Anton Artsibashev, deputy head of the Communist Party faction, considers Mr. Gromov’s decision to be the result of pressure from the regional authorities on the eve of the autumn gubernatorial elections.

“The day before yesterday, we also all went to an event in the Zarinsky district together. We planned to record a video interview with him the other day. Something happened to Vova during the night, and yesterday he wrote a letter of resignation. We knew that they were working on it, offering various posts, but we thought until the very end that it would not sag. In vain they thought so and trusted him,” Mr. Artsibashev wrote in his Telegram channel.

Recall that the gubernatorial candidate from the Communist Party, State Duma deputy Maria Prusakova could not overcome the “municipal filter”, after which the regional committee of the Communist Party announced that it would call on its voters to spoil the ballots or vote for one of the remaining opposition candidates.

According to political scientist Konstantin Lukin, the departure of the deputy from the faction indicates that “the Communist Party of the Russian Federation in the Altai Territory is actually defeated.” “Don’t wait!” Anton Artsibashev objects. It should be noted that Vladimir Gromov is already the third deputy who left the Communist Party faction over the past year. True, the communists themselves got rid of two colleagues.

As Kommersant reported, in November 2022, the bureau of the regional committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation expelled Nadezhda Dryupina and Elena Khrustaleva from the party for “discrediting the party and gross violation of party discipline”, expressed in support of the regional budget for 2023 proposed by the governor. Now Mrs. Khrustaleva heads the regional branch of the Party of Pensioners and is a candidate for governor.

The leader of the Just Russia – For Truth faction, Alexander Molotov, explained the departure of the deputies by the “failed” personnel policy of the leadership of the regional committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and called on the Communists to support Right-wing Russian candidate Evgenia Borovikova in the gubernatorial elections.

Valery Lavsky, Novosibirsk