People x

“Open Elections” by Mikhail Khodorkovsky presented their candidates for elections to the State Duma. Who are they and how the project arranged - the New Times found out

The Open Elections team and candidates are ready for election struggle, Moscow, June 1, 2016

If not Putin, then we, ”, entrepreneur Evgeny Chichvarkin, who was ambitiously stated at the presentation of the opening elections on June 1, on June 1, on June 1, who is responsible for positioning and branding in Open Russia.

“I assume that a significant number of people present here, being still quite young people, is mandatory, if they are consistent, they will come to power. In these elections or somewhat later, from my point of view, it is much less important than the fact that this is the person of the future power of Russia, ”says Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

And then a ship with candidates and posters with a quote from Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev: “There is no money, but you hold on! Good mood! " - Does not let the FSO Kremlin. In the Sunday issue, Vesti of the Week, Dmitry Kiselev attacks the Open Elections. According to rumors, NTV is preparing an exposing film. On the Internet, group photos of “Khodorkovsky people” are stylized as a poster depicting superheroes from the film “People X”. There is a reaction.

How does this work

The Open Elections project, supported by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is presented as educational: 24 candidates from 14 regions of the country (5 women and 19 men), the team provides “resource, intellectual, information and legal support” during election campaigns.

“We are not an opposition, we are an alternative,” Timur Valeev emphasizes the coordinator of the Open Elections project. Valeev in the past is the creative producer of the Moscow -24 channel. He once criticized Bolotnaya, now changed his eyes.

In addition to three self -nominated people, all candidates are coming from the Parnas party. 19 candidates go to the State Duma, another 5 are running for the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg. The project was also supported by three leaders of the regional branches of Parnas: Yegor Savin in Novosibirsk, Alexander Kunilovsky in Tyumen and co -chair of the St. Petersburg branch of the party Andrei Pivovarov. Formally, he leads the entire northwestern team of Khodorkovsky's List.

“When you are on the side of the state, you use the administrative resource. When you are the opposition, you are constantly trying to catch up, you are fighting with someone and in the end you get your 2%. We are different. We are ahead of all, including United Russia, ”Valeev distinguishes.

The project team does not provide candidates with finances, but resources - specialists who are ready to help with advice or service: PR managers, image makers, political scientists, political technologists, specialists in speech techniques, electoral lawyers. So, for example, the “one of the pillars of the Russian State Propaganda” was prepared for the press conference of the formed team of candidates, the name of the project coordinator Valeev did not disclose.

“We thought that there would be much more tough questions and prepared for the worst scenario,” Valeev said. - He had a very simple task - "beating kittens." He coped with this perfectly, the guys were delighted. The man tormented them from the point of view of state propaganda and said how to answer, what to make accents and how to make the phrases not cut out. ”

“To beat kittens” were offered to several representatives of state propaganda media-someone referred to vacation, someone refused directly. This “coach” not only agreed and asked for the “acceptable price” service, but also admired the team - they say that the children have a great political future.

“I assume that a significant number of people present here, being still quite young people, is mandatory, if they are consistent, they will come to power”

“We invite specialists who have never been involved in politics. They prepared businessmen, actors, stars of show business. When such specialists work, the prices are immediately reduced. Because people who work only in the elections try to cover themselves in one four years, ”says Valeev.

The largest amount was requested by one of the rarest specialists - an electoral lawyer: $ 17 thousand per month, plus transportation and mobile communications. The rest turn out to be more accommodating - work for all parties simultaneously allows you to play "at a market price."

“There are experts who go to the presidential administration and help us,” says Valeev. - We took a lot of political strategists who used to be engaged in elections even by order of AP. The country has changed very much, especially over the past two years, so we attract people here, since those people who have been living abroad have not understood what is happening here. In general, there are no people who could conduct an election campaign in the country. ”

Portrait of the candidate

The average age of the candidate of Open Elections is 37.5 years: the youngest applicant for a chair in the Duma 23 years old, 44 to the oldest. At the stage of filing applications, the age qualification was established - the support for support could not be older than 45 years. “Young people are interesting in that they are more plastic from the point of view of learning, more located to changes and are ready to take responsibility for these changes,” the project announces.

Almost all candidates have higher education, four - two diplomas, two have a master's degree and candidate of science. Humanitarians prevail: they studied the economy, jurisprudence and historical sciences. Five candidates were already deputies of city or district councils.

Also significant criteria for selection were the presence of open and legal income, compliance with tax legislation. Another condition for participation is to run at the place of residence and independently look for money for the campaign. To search for funds, candidates for deputies have already involved crowdfunding technology. Four candidates have a financial advantage - their own business.

“And no less important point-candidates can opposite us in some political issues, but we must be in solidarity in key points: to recognize the fundamental rights and freedoms of a person, to understand the need for constant replacement of power,” the claims said.

The project is published by the journal "GDP and the Alternative", which contrasts politicians. Thus, the “Alternative” to the official representative of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova - Maria Baronova

There are no ideological communists, anarchists, conservatives or nationalists in the “Khodorkovsky list”. Most described their political views as liberal, democratic (14 people, including those who designated their position as liberal-democratic) or social liberal (2 people). Four people are social democrats. And two call themselves "supporters of a strong legal state." There is one libertarian and one socialist.

Three candidates have an “apple” past: Alexander Shurshev from St. Petersburg was 12 years old in the party, after which in 2012 he was expelled from Yabloko “because of disagreement with a number of decisions of the leadership”. The same fate befell Nikolai Artemenko, now a member of the Federal Council of the Vesna movement. But Ilya Novikov, now a member of the Parnas party, was elected from Yabloko to the State Council of Tatarstan in 2014.

There are also representatives of the "system" parties: Kirill Nikolenko was part of the leadership of the Vladimir branch of the Communist Party. Olga Zhakova from Angarsk in 2009 was elected as a deputy of the Irkutsk City Duma from Fair Russia. And Ruzil Mingalimov from Naberezhnye Chelnov until April 29, 2016 was listed in United Russia and was expelled from the party for cooperation with the Khodorkovsky project.

“I did not think that such a trial would be arranged for me,” says Ruzil Mingalimov about the party’s reaction. The likely pressure of opponents or criminal prosecution does not scare the former United Russia: “Why should I be afraid? I have already suffered during this time: first, friends and relatives turned away. Then, however, they understood - they also see what was happening. Do I do something illegal? I received a fine for speeding - 500 rubles, I paid it. And I do not accumulate, like others in United Russia, 20 thousand rubles each. ”

A criminal case was instituted against one of the project participants - Andrei Pivovarov - back in 2015 during the democratic coalition campaign in Kostroma. On June 10, 2016, the Kostroma court found him guilty of unlawful access to computer information and incitement to violation of official powers. The court fined Pivovarov for 1.5 million rubles. Pivovarov himself considers the case politically motivated, in his innocence is completely confident and ready to appeal the verdict - only this will give him the last chance to register as a candidate.

Fixing game

Candidates form the headquarters, meet with voters, print newspapers. Yaroslav Svyatoslavsky-a triathlet and champion of Russia in cycling among athletes with a defeat of the musculoskeletal system, an exoskeleton pilot developed by the Skolkovo Foundation, is conducting an election campaign in the 122nd Odintsovo District. He is not afraid of rivalry with a bright candidate from United Russia, the Commissioner for Child Rights in the Moscow Region Oksana Pushkina.

“I am ready to cooperate and negotiate,” says Svyatoslavsky, “but I do not think that she will represent the interests of the inhabitants better than me. First of all, I want to defend the rights of people with disabilities. In addition, I am ready to support various scientific developments in the field of medicine. ”

Julia Yuzik, who decided to be elected in the 12th Southern District of Dagestan (Buinaksk, Khasavyurt), one of the most difficult in the region, is not afraid. She is a journalist, worked in the Moscow Komsomolets, the author of books, a single mother with four children. He has been living in Moscow for 15 years, but her work is connected with the North Caucasus. “I have been working there for a long time and know all the rules of the game,” she says. - I think that provocations from the opponents will be, but nothing serious. It doesn't scare me. I went alone to Mountains, where it does not catch mobile communications, an accumulation of terrorism and salafism. I'm not scared. "

In the Southern District, the interests of the current deputies Umakhan Umakhanov and Magomed Gadzhiev may come across. “My advantage,” says Julia, “that, unlike the deputies who are now represented in the Duma of Dagestan, I do not represent the interests of either ethnic or influential groups. This means that I will represent everyone. "

“Why should I be afraid? I have already suffered during this time: first, friends and relatives turned away. Then, however, they understood - they also see what was happening. Do I do something illegal? "

In 2011, the Yuzik stigmatized the liberals, called Navalny a “cunning anticipated project”, argued that in Russia the “orange revolution” was eager to arrange insidious American agents. About the North Caucasus in an interview with Radio Liberty said this: “Democracy, I believe, is completely not suitable for the North Caucasus, because, is it bad, good, but in the Chechen Republic, unlike Dagestan and Ingushetia, order and silence are still.”

All candidates have already formed programs: they are often similar. According to sociological research conducted by the project, voters in all districts are interested in housing and communal services, roads, education and medicine.

Candidates understand that the authorities will act tough. Thus, law enforcement agencies have questions about the collection of signatures to Yegor Savin: in April, the Parknas party was searched in the Novosibirsk branch of the criminal case instituted in 2015 on falsification of signatures in the election to the local Legislative Assembly. Those who taught at universities are fired - for example, Vladimir Zhilkin was asked to leave the Tambov State University named after G.R. Derzhavin.

Five candidates for the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly and Maria Baronova, who is nominated in the State Duma in the Central Particular District in Moscow, must be collected by voters' signatures. So, there is a great risk of elections simply not to get: objectionable candidates are traditionally “slowed down” just at the stage of collection of signatures.

“We know and are sure that not all our candidates will reach the vote,” the project coordinator Timur Valeev sums up. “Now we will play for starting.”

Photo: Artem Geodakyan/TASS, Openrussia.org