“United Russia”, PR and inflated figures
The United Russia party struck off its official list of its exporters – about 15 million people, reducing its electoral base by two and a half times – to 10 million, collected on the eve of the media.
In particular, all those suspected of disloyalty were removed from the register, including those who liked the posts of opposition politician Alexei Navalny. To this end, United Russia used a special program for the analysis of social networks.
At the same time, ER has drawn up a plan for a number of its imports and completed by the presidential elections in 2024 to triple their number. According to the order, each deputy must add from 50 to 1500 imports to the party “cash”.
“The current authorities are simply repeating the maximum number of Soviet temporary tricks”.
This is a typical pre-election measure, the political scientist believes. Fedor Krasheninnikov. According to United Russia, it is necessary to show his voters that the party is being cleared of unnecessary elements.
“They arrange it from time to time, maybe just not on a large scale,” he said in an interview with the Voice of America Russian Service. – In addition, as far as I know, in the process of the formation of United Russia, all these years there have been campaigns for mass entry into the party of people. It contains enlarged labor collectives. Then, in some regions, people did not even know that they had become United Russia assemblers.
According to Fyodor Krasheninnikov, there is no expression of will by United Russia itself, there is a desire to simply depict party lists in a more or less adequate state, removing random people from there. At the same time, he does not think that the expulsion of disloyal foreign parties, including for the likes of the opposition, is the main reason for what is happening: “More likely, this is just an element of intimidation. Well, in general, this, of course, is a purely political PR and, in a sense, an attempt to once again match oneself with Comrade Stalin. That the part of the population that likes all these pseudo-Soviet analogues and games in the Soviet past is beautiful, that Putin, like Stalin, cleans some of the different bad people.
In general, this, taking into account the upcoming weekend elections in the Russian regions and preparations for the election cycle, is a completely politically explicable decision, although almost completely meaningless, the political scientist stated.
High-level election events are held in the Russian Federation on September 11. In addition to the heads of representatives, deputies to legislative and municipal bodies will be elected on this day. Most manifestations under the influence of prepositions are not allowed to be chosen.
“What is the real support for ER today is unknown,” added Fedor Krasheninnikov. – When there are no electoral competitors in the country, it is impossible to accurately determine and determine the party rating. “ER” is a party that was created by the bureaucracy and manages the network, it is inseparable from the vertical of power, but usually less popular than Putin. The level of trust in United Russia fluctuates somewhere, in the range of 20-30 percent.”
However, United Russia is reportedly planning to increase its base to 30 million in 2024, according to media reports.
Obviously, it is impossible to find so many willing to voluntarily join any party in Russia, Fyodor Krasheninnikov is sure.
“In addition, the experience of the collapse of the Soviet Union shows that the multimillion-strong right-wing party means absolutely nothing. These are empty numbers. In the CPSU, there were several tens of millions of copies, which did not prevent the collapse of the USSR. However, history does not teach anyone, and the current authorities simply repeat the importance from Soviet temporary tricks,” he concluded.
“They will draw the necessary numbers in the elections themselves in any case”
A little more truthful is collected in United Russia, believes a member of the federal political council of the People’s Freedom Party, a human rights activist Natalia Pelevina. In her opinion, the number of exports of “EP” was noticeably inflated.
“In general, there is a fair principle here: everything that comes from the authorities is a lie,” says the Voice of America interlocutor. – And United Russia is the ruling party. Really, the people who are on the side of the “ER” are many times smaller.”
The exemplary purge of the party ranks covers United Russia’s exceptional investments in self-PR, Natalya Pelevina believes. “Despite the fact that in Ukraine there is a feeling that, they say, everything is going according to plan. About “ER” began to turn to themselves for attention. Well, they will draw the necessary figures in the elections themselves in any case. Viewing the head of the CEC (Ella Pamfilova – V.V.) goes to a meeting with Putin with a “Z” brooch, I think everything is predetermined here. Pamfilova will fulfill all the tasks set by the Kremlin in terms of assessing the results in any election, including in 2024,” the politician said.
According to kremlin.ru, at a recent meeting with President Ella Pamfilova, it was noted that, despite the fact that party disagreements are taking place among the participants in the elections, all of them, except for “an insignificant exception” (obviously, a hint of Yabloko), “are in solidarity on one – in support of a special operation, in the event of a special contribution to achieving victory.