The faction leader failed the test

The Presidium of the Political Council of the Samara United Russia (UR) accepted the resignation of the leader of the party faction in the provincial Duma, Alexander Zhivaikin. The deputy himself previously stated that he decided to leave “to be open to new achievements,” but, according to Kommersant, he lost his post after a visit by the commission of the central executive committee of United Russia, which was checking a complaint against State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein. Mr. Khinshtein was accused of posting negative information about Governor Dmitry Azarov and “undermining trust in the party,” but the commission considered these accusations unfounded and recommended that the head of the faction be removed from office.

The Presidium of the Political Council of the Samara branch of United Russia approved the decision of Alexander Zhivaikin to resign as head of the party faction in the Samara Provincial Duma. Marina Antimonova was elected as the new leader of the faction, who was supported by 25 out of 26 parliamentarians based on the results of a secret ballot. The deputy announced his decision to resign from the post he had held since 2018 on December 8, noting that he remains in the position of vice speaker of the regional Duma and will continue to oversee party projects.

Formally, Mr. Zhivaikin left his post voluntarily, but, according to Kommersant, the decision to resign for discrediting the party and violating party discipline was made at the level of the federal leadership of United Russia. On August 30, the leader of the faction organized among its members a vote for a draft appeal to United Russia Chairman Dmitry Medvedev and Secretary of the General Council Andrei Turchak. The document was actually a complaint against State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein, elected in a single-mandate constituency in the Samara region. The text of the appeal, in particular, said that United Russia member Khinshtein was discrediting the party during the regional election campaign by posting negative information about the activities of Governor Dmitry Azarov, who is running for a new term from United Russia. According to Samara residents, these actions of the deputy are aimed at “destabilizing the situation in the region, forming a false public opinion, increasing the level of distrust in the party and its highest governing bodies.” In this regard, the authors of the letter asked Dmitry Medvedev and Andrei Turchak to take “party response measures.” The appeal was signed by “deputies of the United Russia faction in the Samara Provincial Duma.” At the same time, the complaint was sent to the General Council on September 11, that is, after the elections, which Mr. Azarov won with 84% of the votes.

To understand the situation, a five-member commission of the central executive committee (CEC) of United Russia arrived in Samara. Based on the results of the audit, they came to the conclusion that not a single fact stated in the letter was confirmed, and the faction leader exceeded his authority. In particular, members of the commission did not find any negative references to United Russia or direct criticism of Dmitry Azarov in the posts of deputy Khinshtein: they only talked about manifestations of corruption in the region and individual facts of criminal prosecution of representatives of local authorities.

Moreover, it turned out that the appeal was not discussed either at the presidium of the faction or at its meeting on August 30, but was only read out by Alexander Zhivaikin in the presence of 33 members of the faction out of 35. As the deputies themselves explained to the commission, they supported the appeal because they considered that it was agreed upon with the governor who heads the regional branch of United Russia. And Mr. Zhivaikin admitted that the letter was prepared by him personally, although Dmitry Azarov was informed about this (the governor also confirmed this). Therefore, many deputies, in conversations with members of the commission, called the complaint a forged document.

Based on the results of the audit, the Central Election Commission commission in October recommended the removal of Alexander Zhivaikin from the post of head of the faction. However, the deputies themselves had to vote for the leader’s resignation, which is why the process was delayed. Governor Azarov, according to Kommersant, tried to lobby for the cancellation of this decision, but was unsuccessful, after which the resignation of the faction leader was finally formalized.

Alexander Zhivaikin did not answer Kommersant’s questions. Alexander Khinshtein also refused to comment on the situation, although he had previously published the text of an appeal prepared by Mr. Zhivaikin in his Telegram channel.

Evgeny Chernov, Samara