Translated material
Other elections
The irreconcilable opposition is going to participate in the Duma election campaign contrary to the law
Yesterday in Moscow there was a federal congress of the opposition coalition “The Other Russia”, at which the Other Russias were supposed to sum up the results of their regional primaries and determine a single presidential candidate from the democratic opposition . At the time of signing the issue, the name of the single opposition presidential candidate was not known, but it became known about the unexpected intention of “The Other Russia” to participate in the Duma elections. The top three on their list were Viktor Gerashchenko , Garry Kasparov and Eduard Limonov.About 800 people took part in the congress. At the regional conferences of the “Other Russia”, the former world chess champion, leader of the “United Civil Front” Garry Kasparov won with a minimal margin. His candidacy was nominated by 22 regional conferences of The Other Russia. At the same time, the former Prime Minister of Russia, leader of the Russian People's Democratic Union, Mikhail Kasyanov, was supported by 21 regional conferences. He was in the lead for a long time, then Kasparov took the lead. Participants in six conferences voted for the former head of the Central Bank Viktor Gerashchenko. The leader of the “People” movement, Sergei Gulyaev, as well as State Duma deputies Vladimir Ryzhkov and Boris Vinogradov received support from one conference each.
During the conferences, the other Russians faced opposition from local authorities. This is precisely why they explain the unsuccessful attempts to identify the winner in the Kaliningrad and Rostov regions. In the Tver region, votes in the second round were divided equally between Kasyanov and Gerashchenko. And the results of two more conferences were not recognized by the federal organizing committee of The Other Russia.
The congress was not without scandal. The Vanguard of Red Youth movement announced its withdrawal from the coalition. According to AKM leader Sergei Udaltsov, the movement is leaving the Other Russia because it considers the nomination of a single opposition candidate “untimely.” In addition, he was not satisfied with the personalities of the applicants. “We see very well that either Kasparov or Kasyanov will be chosen as a single candidate. These figures are unacceptable to us as single presidential candidates. As representatives of left-wing forces, we do not consider it possible for ourselves to participate in any actions that will be associated with a single candidate with clearly liberal views,” said Mr. Udaltsov.
The internal disagreements were compounded by the attack of external opponents. “The Young Guard of United Russia held a picket near the Izmailovo concert building, where the congress was held. Young United Russia members chanted slogans: “Russia is everything, the “Other” is nothing!” and also “Garik! Edik! Don’t be timid - go to USA en masse!” One of the “Young Guards” was handing out drawn dollars at the entrance to the concert hall, with a request to give them to Kasparov. “Uncle Sam brought him money,” the young man explained to delegates and journalists going to the convention. The picket was authorized by the prefecture of the Eastern Administrative District of Moscow. Riot police officers, integral companions of the “Other Russia” events, were on duty at the approaches to the concert hall.
However, the other Russians do not lose optimism and are even going to submit a list of candidates for State Duma deputies to the Central Election Commission today, despite the fact that they cannot take part in parliamentary elections by law. Only parties officially registered by the Ministry of Justice have this right. “We will demand that the Central Election Commission endorse the lists of the “Other Russia” and include them in the ballot papers. Regardless of whether the Central Election Commission approves the list or not, we will conduct a full-fledged election campaign,” one of the coalition leaders, Eduard Limonov, told reporters yesterday.