Sverdlovsk Spravorossy decided on election lists

Yesterday, the Sverdlovsk regional branch of A Just Russia decided on candidates for the State Duma, elections to which will take place on December 2. At the last conference, the Right Russians decided to go to the polls with two lists: the first will be headed by the leader of the branch, State Duma deputy Evgeniy Roizman, the second - the famous bard Alexander Novikov. At the same time, party members once again cleaned up their ranks, terminating the powers of regional bureau secretary Alexander Burkov “for discrediting the party.” Preparations of the Right Russia for the conference took place in a nervous atmosphere. As Kommersant previously wrote, at the end of last week information appeared that the leader of the Sverdlovsk branch, State Duma deputy Evgeny Roizman and his associates may lose their places on the election lists, losing them to the Moscow “Varangians”. In recent days, representatives of Mr. Roizman’s team - the famous bard Alexander Novikov and the head of the regional headquarters of A Just Russia, regional Duma deputy Dmitry Utkin - even made a number of harsh statements in the media. Their essence was that if the “Varangians” arrived, the resource of the local branch would not work for them. In addition, the Right Russians, not without reason, feared provocations from the city authorities: Mr. Roizman is considered the main potential rival of the mayor of Yekaterinburg Arkady Chernetsky in the elections of the head of the city (to be held in March 2008 - Kommersant), moreover, the latter is one of the leaders of the regional list "United Russia". “During the celebration of City Day, the Yekaterinburg authorities turned off the lights in the Central Park of Culture and Recreation, disrupting the concert of Alexander Novikov, so we did not rule out that something similar could happen now,” Mr. Utkin explained to Kommersant. As a result, it was decided to hold the conference at the headquarters of A Just Russia, and the place and time were announced at the last moment.

The event was arranged with the utmost precaution: the approaches to the wooden mansion where the headquarters was located were guarded by a cordon of student-aged children in vests with the symbols of A Just Russia, and inside the building strict “face control” was carried out by strong young men with short haircuts.

Opening the conference, Mr. Roizman tried to instill confidence in his supporters, calling on them “not to believe the provocations that are spread by the Internet and newspapers close to the mayor’s office.” “The party leadership is under enormous pressure today. I hope it holds up." At the same time, he added that opinion polls instill confidence in this, according to which the Right Russia party in the Sverdlovsk region has the highest rating. “This is our merit,” Mr. Roizman praised the party activist. He was supported by Alexander Novikov. “They pressed us, but they didn’t crush us enough. Agree, it is better to be a party of the underpressed than a party of the suppressed,” the bard said, ending his speech with the hope that “everything will be wonderful in the end.”

After that, the Spravorossians began discussing pressing election issues. They unanimously decided to go to the polls with two lists. To do this, they divided the Sverdlovsk region into southern and northern parts. The first list, which is expected to be put forward for Yekaterinburg and surrounding cities, will be headed by Evgeniy Roizman. In addition to him, the top three included the chairman of the Ural branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Valery Chereshnev, and the ex-deputy general director for capital construction of Uraltransgaz (a subsidiary of Gazprom) Yakov Nevelev. The latter, according to Kommersant's information, will also be recommended for the position of first deputy of the regional department. “Mr. Nevelev is an active member of the party and provides it with some financial support,” a source in the department’s leadership explained to Kommersant. The second list, which is planned to be put forward in the northern territories of the region, is headed by Alexander Novikov. Following him in the top three were Dmitry Utkin and another regional Duma deputy Rinat Sadriev. Now their candidacies must be approved by the party's pre-election congress, which will take place on September 23.

In addition, the Right Russia party continued to purge the governing bodies. In the summer, they deprived of their position, and then expelled from the party with the wording “for subversive activities” the representative of the RPP Vasily Khanzhin, who held the post of first deputy of Mr. Roizman in the regional branch, and yesterday the powers of the secretary of the branch bureau, regional Duma deputy Alexander Burkov, who represented the party, were prematurely terminated "Motherland" and considered a politician close to the mayor's office. According to Kommersant's information, by concluding a pre-election alliance with him, the Right Russians hoped to achieve a compromise with the city authorities on the eve of the elections. However, this did not happen. During the discussion of this issue, it turned out that many other claims had accumulated against Mr. Burkov. As Mr. Roizman told those present, inviting a “Rodino” to the leadership of the party was a big mistake. “During difficult situations for us - when our May Day demonstration was dispersed, and they tried to deprive me of my parliamentary powers, he rested in Karlovy Vary and went hunting. And now, when we are plowing in the region during the election campaign, he is upholstering Moscow offices so that he can be included in the list of passable places,” Mr. Roizman denounced his former comrade-in-arms. Mr. Novikov supported him: “How can you work with a person who plainly states: put me in a passable place, otherwise I will spoil things for you?” As a result, the conference voted unanimously for the termination of Mr. Burkov’s powers.

However, taking into account recent events, the department continues to expect a dirty trick from him. “We do not rule out that he will try to take advantage of the current situation and support those who are trying to put Muscovites at the head of the list,” Mr. Utkin clarified.

Mr. Burkov himself, who learned about the conference from a Kommersant correspondent, commented on his plans very evasively. “I will continue to work for the benefit of A Just Russia, because I believe that common sense will prevail,” was all he said.

Alexander Lakedemonsky

Kommersant (Ekaterinburg) No. 167 from 09.14.2007

"Party of the Underpressed"