The Party of Action at the congress on February 10 supported Vladimir Putin in the upcoming elections of Russian President in March

At the congress on February 10, the Party of Action decided to support Russian President Vladimir Putin in the upcoming elections in March and invited him to use his achievements for victory and an industrial leap into the future. But 63 delegates from different regions gathered in Moscow not only for this purpose. No less important from the point of view of the future of the organization was the second issue on the agenda – about introducing changes to the party’s charter, without which it faces liquidation.

As Kommersant previously reported, claims to the charter of the Party of Action arose from the Ministry of Justice last year: the department demanded that it be brought into compliance with current legislation, as well as the re-election of the working bodies of the party. This was done at the congress in August 2023. However, the Ministry of Justice refused to register the new version of the charter, citing a technical typo in the text of the decision on the appointment of the congress, and in November filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court to suspend the activities of the Party of Cause. However, for now the proceedings on it have been suspended until the official announcement of the results of the presidential elections, since, according to the law, the liquidation and suspension of the activities of parties during the election campaign is not allowed. If this claim is satisfied, the party must eliminate the shortcomings within two months, and if the Ministry of Justice decides that this was not done, it has the right to demand the liquidation of the party through the court.

Party members, however, hope that their demonstration of loyalty during the election period will help prevent matters from reaching such an unfavorable outcome.

At the very least, it would look completely strange, noted Konstantin Babkin, leader of the Party of Business, in a conversation with Kommersant. Although there is no direct connection between Vladimir Putin’s support and the dispute with the Ministry of Justice, the party member assured: the question of who the Party of Cause should be with in these elections was simply “hanging in the air.” Since she is not nominating her own candidate, all that remained was to decide on the support of one of the campaign participants, and there was no doubt about it, Mr. Babkin emphasized: “We are for Putin!”

“For victory and a leap into the future, Russia needs a strong leader,” says the statement adopted at the congress. “And today the country has one. We call on everyone to rally around Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin!”

Speaking from the rostrum of the congress, Konstantin Babkin noted that the Party of Action supports the president “in his main aspirations,” but at the same time proposes to strengthen economic policy, including through its own many years of developments. The party also sees its mission in promoting real democracy, its leader said: if you do not oppose the authorities, then it will “freeze,” and this approach led the country to disaster both in 1917 and in 1991. “Russia needs political struggle, it needs public discussion, it needs parliamentary elections,” Mr. Babkin insisted.

The delegates said that the country needed a program of new industrialization and a new government, which would become a “government of a breakthrough.”

“It feels like the government is not listening to Putin,” said Yuri Krupnov, a member of the party’s federal council, indignantly. “Okay, it’s not listening to me, the Party of Action.” But Putin has been calling for a breakthrough for ten years, and by and large nothing happens, even in terms of formal GDP indicators.”

The breakthrough, according to party members, should be the rejection of the neoliberal economic course, state protectionism in relation to modern sectors of the economy and the stimulation of non-resource production. To correct the “spatial deformation of our country,” it is proposed to transfer some of the capital’s functions from Moscow to one of the cities of the Ural or Siberian Federal District. The spiritual guarantee of the breakthrough should be “a total renewal of cultural policy and a return to the ideals of serving the Fatherland,” the statement says.

In the end, 61 out of 63 delegates voted for its adoption, two more abstained. But then the unexpected happened. “I have comments on the text,” Vladimir Petrov, a delegate from the Altai Republic, suddenly raised his voice. “It’s too late, they voted,” the secretary of the federal council, Alexei Lapushkin, upset a fellow party member. “But the transfer of capital functions from Moscow could lead to the collapse of the country!” – Mr. Petrov was worried. “It won’t lead to collapse,” his leader reassured him authoritatively. After this, the delegates voted again for amendments to the charter in their August edition and began to prepare for the buffet.

Let us recall that the Party of Action was founded by the co-owner of the Rostselmash plant, Konstantin Babkin, in 2010, but after two refusals it only managed to obtain registration in 2012, after the liberalization of party legislation. The party proclaims its main goal to be the development of the non-resource sector of the economy, and demonstrates activity primarily in the regions: in particular, it has municipal deputies in the Altai Republic and Primorsky Krai, and last fall the party waged an active campaign in Transbaikalia, Yakutia and North Ossetia.

Electoral lawyer Garegin Mitin notes that this is the first non-parliamentary party that, during the current campaign, officially, by decision of its congress, supported the candidate Vladimir Putin: earlier this was done by the parliamentary “United Russia” and “A Just Russia – For Truth” (Mr. Putin’s nomination was also supported The Party of Pensioners, but formalized this by decision of the political council). According to the expert, such a decision will have a certain propaganda effect in any case, because members and supporters of the Party of Cause are also potential voters.

Anastasia Kornya