“United Russia” began consultations in connection with the statements of a member of the faction Konstantin Zatulin

United Russia has begun consultations on the public statements of a member of the faction, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Konstantin Zatulin. This was reported to Vedomosti by two sources in the party and an interlocutor close to the presidential administration. According to the latter, it is too early to say what measures will be taken.

According to an interlocutor in United Russia, Vyacheslav Makarov, the first deputy head of the United Russia faction, is now dealing with the situation. Zatulin himself (deputy of the 1st, 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th convocations), although he is not a member of the party, is a member of its Duma faction.

Among the discussed options for action is the deprivation of Zatulin of the post of first deputy chairman of the State Duma committee and exclusion from the ranks of the Duma United Russia, says one of the sources. There has already been a similar precedent: in the fall of 2021, the faction voted to exclude another single-mandate member from its membership, Yevgeny Marchenko, although such a procedure is not prescribed in the relevant law. He did not support the draft budget, violating, according to United Russia, party discipline.

United Russia members have long accumulated questions to Zatulin about his statements, says a source in the faction. Moreover, according to the interlocutor of Vedomosti, the claims appeared during the last discussion of the bill on citizenship, which was introduced in December 2021 by the president. Zatulin presented his amendments to the initiative in April 2023 (they were not accepted) and criticized its final version.

A new reason for discussing the actions of a deputy from the United Russia faction turned out to be connected with the military operation in Ukraine.

On Thursday, June 1, Zatulin, speaking at a forum called “What kind of Ukraine do we need?”, Said that Russia is now in a difficult situation, when it is necessary to “transfer not only industry, but also life on a war footing.” “What were our goals officially declared at the beginning of the military operation? You all remember – denazification, demilitarization, the neutrality of Ukraine and the protection of the inhabitants of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, who have suffered all this time. On which of these items have we achieved results to date?” Zatulin asked philosophically. There were other similar statements in his speech.

Zatulin told Vedomosti that no one from the leadership of the faction contacted him about his speeches at the forum. “Why can I lose my position in the committee or be expelled from the faction? The leadership of the faction did not tell me anything,” he assured.

At the same time, Zatulin wrote in his Telegram channel that “dear commentators approach my text [на форуме], like a smorgasbord – they take one thing out of context and forget or obscure the other. “I said that at the moment the goals of the military special operation <...> not reached. For what? Then, to follow up with what needs to be done in order to achieve these goals. I, in my opinion, clearly expressed the idea that for this, all of us, who are in the same boat, should make every effort,” the deputy wrote.

Another source of Vedomosti admits that all consultations on Zatulin’s speech can be limited to educational measures only: “The leadership of the faction will talk with Zatulin so that he speaks more carefully in the future.”

Now Zatulin, as deputy chairman of the profile committee, influences the position of the United Russia faction on bills related to issues of compatriots, Eurasian integration, said Pavel Sklyanchuk, a member of the political technologies committee of the Russian Association for Public Relations. In addition, he has the unique status of the special representative of the State Duma on issues of migration and citizenship, and on this basis he participates in meetings of the Duma Council and, for example, made a separate report at the right hour with the participation of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in February of this year .

United Russia seeks to maintain strict discipline, this is evident both in the State Duma and in the regions, says Rostislav Turovsky, vice president of the Center for Political Technologies. “But I think that Zatulin’s case is special. It is connected not with voting, but with a public position, moreover, on a topic that is very close to the deputy,” he says. Everything will depend on how acceptable this position is in the party and faction.

In general, during the discussion and adoption of bills, United Russia maintains the so-called “factional discipline”, notes one of the interlocutors. In addition, after the start of the special military operation, the deputies were repeatedly asked to be careful with their statements. As Vedomosti wrote on May 17, the speaker of the State Duma supported the proposal of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation that the deputies behave more carefully on social networks, speaking out on the topic of the special operation.