United and provisional Russia – Kommersant

“United Russia” on Wednesday discussed the interim results of the intra-party primaries. Deputy Secretary of the General Council of the party Sergey Perminov was the keynote speaker, and the head of the Civil Society Development Fund Konstantin Kostin and General Director of APEC Dmitry Orlov acted as experts supporting him. The speakers rejoiced that many “girls” and 81 participants in the special military operation are participating in the preliminary voting this year, asked a rhetorical question why opposition parties do not use such a procedure, and assured that the UR candidates are people of action. In conclusion, the participants in the discussion came to the conclusion that the dominance of United Russia will continue for another 15-20 years, because the party now has those who “push”, not “interpret”.

An expert round table dedicated to the completion of the registration of candidates for the preliminary voting of United Russia (ER) was held on May 26 in the building of the Central Executive Committee of the party. The role of the main speaker was taken on by Deputy Secretary of the General Council of the United Russia Sergei Perminov, who basically operated on statistics that were positive for the party.

According to him, compared to 2018, the competition for the primaries has grown from 4.8 to 5.3 candidates per seat. Almost 4% of all voters in the regions where the preliminary voting is taking place have already expressed their desire to become electors. Mr. Perminov was especially pleased that 44% of the participants in the primaries were women: “We can already state that the number of girls registered as candidates has already exceeded the figure that we observed in 2022.” The party member also saw a trend towards a greater involvement of young people, because 28% of the participants were not even 35 years old (although in 2022 this figure was higher – 36%). 48% of the participants in the primaries in 2023 are members of the party, 19% are its supporters and 33% are non-partisans. “Before our eyes, a bloc of party members, supporters and non-party people is being formed,” United Russia continued to radiate positive energy. He also said that 81 participants in the special military operation (SVO) have registered for the preliminary vote, and they will be helped separately.

The deputy secretary of the General Council also said that the party was conducting sociological research on the question of which candidates the voters would like to see. “According to polls, people have preferences for people who are able to achieve results and who control these obligations,” Sergey Perminov lifted the veil over the sociological mystery. During the discussion, he also promised that there would even be a test attack by “hackers” in these primaries. And speaking of the personnel project “Polistart”, he separately mentioned its direction, focused on the training of party political technologists, who will form a powerful “political technology foundation” for United Russia in the next elections.

“You just buried the huge hopes of the political technology community by talking about the fact that the party has enough of its own political technologists, whom you plan to properly train in the next two years so that they are able to lead the federal election campaign in 2026,” Konstantin Kostin picked up the baton . He, too, was pleased with the news about the wide participation of women in the primaries. “It would be nice if they not only participated in the preliminary procedures, but won and held the corresponding elected positions,” the expert set a new task for United Russia. In his speech, Mr. Kostin mentioned the “delayed choice factor”, or “delayed decision factor”. It consists in the fact that against the background of SVO and external pressure, social consolidation is taking place, and problem solutions and issues are postponed by society for later. In such a situation, the political system faces the need for fixation. The parliamentary opposition cannot find an agenda for itself, and it is most profitable for the parties in power to work within the framework of an inertial scenario, the political scientist explained. “The party needs to do what voters expect of it,” he said, explaining that changing the ideological paradigm would be, “to put it mildly,” a risky decision. This means that EP should focus on the same social support and “service”.

Dmitry Orlov, in turn, tried to be “lapidary” and structured his speech in a concise manner. He noted that the start of gubernatorial campaigns actually started earlier than last year, which is beneficial for United Russia, since in this situation it is beneficial for the heads of regions to rely on the party where their campaigns coincide with elections to regional parliaments. Citizens are becoming more interested in regional and municipal issues, the expert continued, a reflection of which is the high competition in the United Russia primaries: only 14% of the participants in this vote are active deputies. At the same time, patriotic consolidation touched even those regions where the opposition used to be strong, Mr. Orlov is sure. As for the primaries themselves, the most intense struggle, according to him, is expected in regions with the most complex intra-elite configuration and where governors have changed in 2021-2022. The highest turnout in APEC is expected in Bashkiria, Buryatia, Kemerovo and Rostov regions, as well as in new regions. Finally, Dmitry Orlov considered it “a truly amazing fact” that the opposition parties have not yet built any mechanism similar to the UR primaries. Other participants in the discussion supported his surprise.

“Of course, the development and transformation of the party system is inevitable… But the fact that the United Russia will be its foundation, at least for the next 15–20 years, is indisputable,” Konstantin Kostin delighted those present at the end of the discussion. The ability of a party and any big “political machine” to rule depends on the ability to fight for power, Dmitry Orlov stated philosophically, adding that just as a car does not move without a driver, so the country does not move forward without an elite. “There are always people pushing life forward and talking about it. Pushers are needed,” the political scientist concluded. “We are not afraid of responsibility and regularly declare it,” Sergei Perminov recalled in response, emphasizing that, in general, the party does not need to declare this, since its deeds already speak of this.

Andrey Vinokurov