United Russia begins panel discussions ahead of December congress

On Tuesday, the first of three panel discussions of United Russia (UR), which it will hold on the eve of its congress on December 17, starts in the Rostov region. All of them will be dedicated to the main semantic lines of the upcoming presidential campaign, and their working titles are “Proud of Russia”, “Believe in Russia” and “Future of Russia”. The first discussion will include, among others, combat veterans, military officers and heads of new regions, who will discuss both the military and civilian achievements of the country. As experts working with United Russia explain, if Vladimir Putin is nominated for a new term, his support by United Russia should have clear substantive grounds, which will help the party take on the role of one of the ideological moderators of the future campaign.

As an informed source in United Russia told Kommersant, on November 28 the party will hold the first of three panel discussions, which will be united by the “semantic triad of pride – confidence – future.” As Kommersant already reportedthese guidelines coincide with the main semantic lines of the 2024 presidential campaign, which, in particular, were discussed at a recent seminar for vice governors, organized by the internal political bloc of the presidential administration.

All discussions must take place before the United Russia congress on December 17: it is assumed that by that time the Federation Council will have already announced the presidential elections (by law, it must do this between December 8 and 18), and Vladimir Putin will announce his decision regarding participation in them.

However, sources emphasize that this is only a basic scenario, and the final decisions are made by the president himself. Under this scenario, Mr. Putin will go to the polls as a self-nominated candidate (the Kremlin is working on the composition of the initiative group for his nomination), and the United Russia congress will be dedicated to the presidential campaign and the party’s ideological contribution to it.

According to the source, it is expected that the secretary of the party’s General Council, Andrei Turchak, will take part in all United Russia discussions.

The first, with the working title “Proud of Russia”, will be held at the Sambek Heights museum complex in the Rostov region, and the discussion will focus on topics related to both the Northern Military District and the achievements of the regions and Russia as a whole.

Among the event participants are heads of new regions, war correspondents, combat veterans, representatives of the military-industrial complex, and volunteers, Kommersant’s interlocutor says.

The “I Believe in Russia” discussion in the Nizhny Novgorod region will be devoted to the economic development of the country, its technological sovereignty, social support and the implementation of the United Russia “People’s Program”.

In addition to party members, young scientists, industrialists and farmers will take part in the discussion. Finally, the third discussion, “The Future of Russia,” will be held in Moscow, and they will talk about the prospects of youth, innovative projects, education, patriotism, the development of volunteering, and sports. Bloggers, artists and actors popular among young people will be invited to the discussion. The participation of athletes, volunteers, doctors and teachers, young scientists and deputies is also expected. In general, the Kommersant source explains, these events have two goals. The first is to “summarize the work of United Russia over two years (the previous congress was held in 2021), consult with local party members and outline a horizon of new tasks.” The second (if Vladimir Putin announces participation in the elections) is to record his support by the party and show the president’s role in Russia’s achievements in recent years.

The head of the scientific council of the Center for Political Current Affairs, Alexei Chesnakov, who periodically advises United Russia as an expert, explains that with the help of panel discussions, the party will take on the role of one of the “ideological moderators” of the presidential campaign.

“Vladimir Putin has repeatedly spoken about the role of United Russia and its special significance in our political system. Therefore, it is logical that the party will join the campaign not just as an instrument of mobilization support, but also as a platform for its ideological content,” says the political scientist. At the same time, he characterizes the upcoming events not as “discussions”, but as “discussions”: “As a result of the discussion, it is not always possible to come to something common. There will still be a different format here. This will be a dialogue in which all participants will have a certain common space with common semantic constructs, and this space is preparation for the upcoming campaign.” How exactly the results of the discussion will be recorded is not the main question, Mr. Chesnakov adds: it could be either a document on the basis of which program proposals for the future presidential candidate will be developed, or speeches by party representatives at the congress.

The head of the Civil Society Development Foundation, Konstantin Kostin, who also works with United Russia (before the 2021 Duma elections, he was its main consultant), recalls that, according to the basic scenario, the congress will take place after the start of the presidential campaign: “Of course, we can only talk about this in a hypothetical way . But, most likely, everything will be quite clear and logical: United Russia will have to formulate its political position at the congress and, in the basic scenario, will support its creator and current head of state. And this support must have ideological and substantive grounds.” And on three discussion platforms, United Russia will have to discuss and meaningfully formalize all the semantic lines that are indicated in their names, the expert notes: “As a result, they can be presented both in the form of visual content and in the form of an ideological document such as a manifesto or several statements – format The essence is not important, the choice of tools is wide. It is important that the party declares its position. We will most likely see the results of these discussions in the speeches of representatives of the venues at the congress.”

Andrey Vinokurov