The Presidential Administration is selecting an initiative group to nominate Vladimir Putin for the 2024 elections

The Kremlin’s internal political bloc is considering options for the composition of the initiative group to nominate Vladimir Putin for president, Kommersant sources close to the presidential administration (AP) say. Although the head of state himself has not yet announced his participation in the elections, the AP is planning a campaign based on the fact that Vladimir Putin will take part in it. The formation of an initiative group suggests that he will most likely run in the elections as a self-nominated candidate. However, there is no final composition of this structure yet: different options are being discussed, Kommersant’s interlocutors say, and they will be checked against sociological measurements.

The presidential administration is discussing the composition of the future initiative group for nominating Russian President Vladimir Putin for the election, three informed sources close to the Kremlin’s internal political bloc told Kommersant. According to them, there is not even a preliminary final composition of the group yet, discussions are ongoing. Future members of the initiative group should represent different sections of society and also have influence on their audience, sources say.

So far, Vladimir Putin has not announced his decision regarding participation in the future presidential campaign. “In accordance with the law, our parliament must make a decision (on holding presidential elections.— “Kommersant”) at the end of the year: when the decision is made, the elections are announced, the date is named, then we’ll talk,” the president himself said at the plenary meeting of the Eastern Economic Forum in September 2023. According to the law, presidential elections should take place on March 17, 2024, and the decision on their appointment should be made by the Federation Council in the period from December 8 to 18, 2023. Earlier it became known that United Russia planned its party congress for December 17. This means that, most likely, both the calling of elections and Vladimir Putin’s announcement of his decision will occur before this date: the congress will be dedicated to supporting his participation in the campaign. Based on the schedule of the upper house of the Russian parliament, which usually meets on Wednesdays, senators can call elections on December 13, and the president in this case will likely announce his decision in the days remaining before the United Russia event.

As Kommersant has already reported, when planning the campaign, the presidential administration proceeds from the fact that Vladimir Putin will take part in it. Discussion of the composition of the initiative group suggests that he will run in the elections as a self-nominated candidate. However, traditionally the last word on this issue remains only with Vladimir Putin himself. Thus, before the 2018 presidential campaign, the presidential administration prepared various options for him to announce his decision to participate in the elections – among them was the World Festival of Youth and Students in Sochi. But Mr. Putin himself preferred to do this during a conversation with a worker at the GAZ automobile plant.

Both in 2000 and 2004, Vladimir Putin ran for elections as a self-nominated candidate. In 2008, his successor Dmitry Medvedev ran for United Russia. In 2012, Vladimir Putin also participated in the elections as a candidate from the party in power. In 2018, he again returned to the self-nomination format. Kommersant’s interlocutors traditionally call the main advantage of this option the supra-party support of the president: his electorate is in all parties, “he is the president of all,” explains one of Kommersant’s interlocutors.

The last meeting of the initiative group to nominate Vladimir Putin for President of Russia was held on December 26, 2017 at VDNKh in the pavilion of the exhibition “Russia – My History.” In total, the group included 668 people. Among them were the rector of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov Viktor Sadovnichy, famous wrestler and State Duma deputy Alexander Karelin, famous doctor Leo Bockeria, Secretary of the General Council of United Russia Andrei Turchak, President of the Infowatch group of companies Natalya Kasperskaya, Russian chess player Sergei Karyakin and others. The head of the Sirius educational center, Elena Shmeleva, who also joined the group, later became one of the three co-chairs of Vladimir Putin’s headquarters in the elections. Her co-chairing colleagues were KAMAZ General Director Sergei Kogogin and the head of the National Medical Research Center for Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunology named after Dmitry Rogachev Alexander Rumyantsev (now a State Duma deputy).

Now there is no list of names of the initiative group for the nomination of Vladimir Putin, Kommersant’s interlocutors say. All possible candidates must, among other things, undergo sociological measurements. According to Kommersant’s sources, director Nikita Mikhalkov, famous children’s doctor Leonid Roshal, singer Shaman, commander of the Donbass battalion “Sparta” and speaker of the parliament of the Donetsk People’s Republic Artem Zhoga (United Russia) were discussed as possible members of the initiative group. An option was also discussed in which the initiative group could include deputy secretaries of the General Council of United Russia. According to one of Kommersant’s sources, the group should include people associated with a special military operation. Perhaps it will also include the first female cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova. However, there are still different approaches to the personal composition of the initiative group, says one of Kommersant’s interlocutors. According to him, it is desirable that the group includes people whose image does not have any negative aspects. Candidates who are not so clearly identified by public opinion may not be included in the group, but may become proxies of the president. Another source emphasizes that the key is the impact on the audience. According to him, the same Valentina Tereshkova for most Russians is the first female cosmonaut, this is key in her image, and it is not so important whether she evokes some negative associations in anyone.

Kommersant’s interlocutor explains that, in essence, the campaign will be a referendum type, and the candidate should not have any problems with re-election. Vladimir Putin has high ratings, he is a key figure in the country for all social groups on all issues. In this regard, the personal composition of the initiative group is not a determining factor. The campaign, according to Kommersant’s interlocutor, will be very conservative. It will be based on the formulas “was, became, will be” and “pride, confidence, future” mentioned in Kommersant publications. The semantic lines will emphasize traditional values, primarily family values, as well as Vladimir Putin’s thesis that Russia is a separate civilization with an independent path of development. The emphasis will be on electoral mobilization, says Kommersant’s interlocutor: according to him, the main thing is to bring the president’s electorate to the polling stations, since those who support him, knowing about his high rating, may consider that he will win anyway, so participate in this process not necessary.

Andrey Vinokurov