Victory with the Nano-Gap

Entrepreneur Larisa Bazanova elected mayor of Arkhangelsk

The elections for the mayor of Arkhangelsk ended with a surprise last Sunday. Acting mayor Viktor Pavlenko was narrowly beaten by entrepreneur Larisa Bazanova, head of the non-profit partnership Larisa Bazanova's Creative Group. She entered the fight for the position of mayor as a self-nominated candidate; she had not previously been noticed on the federal political scene; there is no information about her party affiliation. As follows from the protocol of the Arkhangelsk City Election Commission, 37.55% of the townspeople cast their votes for Ms. Bazanova, while Mr. Pavlenko received the support of 37.41% of voters. A preponderance of only 70 ballots was secured by the businesswoman’s polling station in school No. 51, from which she once graduated and in which the previous mayor of Arkhangelsk, Alexander Donskoy, expressed his will yesterday. It is believed that it was his support that provided Larisa Bazanova with additional points in the election race.

Elected to the post of mayor in 2005, Mr. Donskoy received a suspended sentence in February of this year for forging a university diploma and embezzlement of budget funds. The mayor began to get into trouble with the law after he openly opposed the ex-governor of the region Nikolai Kiselyov, and at the same time declared his own presidential ambitions. Despite the verdict, Mr. Donskoy remains so popular in the city that a serious fight has erupted over the use of his name. Black PR people either denied information about Mr. Donskoy’s support for Larisa Bazanova, or spread rumors that the ex-mayor was allegedly voting for Viktor Pavlenko, who had previously been his deputy at the mayor’s office. Alexander Donskoy has already filed a lawsuit against his former deputy for the use of his name and image.

There were enough other dubious technologies in the elections - just look at the army of “double” candidates who besieged the city electoral commission. In addition to the namesake Viktor Pavlenko, five Sergeev Moiseevs were planning to run for mayor, only one of whom was “real” - a deputy of the city council and a member of United Russia. However, he, following his clones, withdrew from the race, seduced by the position of deputy mayor for economics and finance, which was promised to him by the new governor of the region, Ilya Mikhalchuk. Another potential leader of the election campaign, United Russia member Ernst Belokorovin, was tempted by the post of Minister of Transport and Communications of the regional government, and he also refused to participate in the elections. After this, Mr. Pavlenko, who had previously been expelled from the ranks of the ruling party for supporting his former boss Alexander Donskoy, became the only candidate from the governor’s team. “However, the Arkhangelsk United Russia members did not oppose the candidacy of Viktor Pavlenko, acting on the principle of the least evil,” notes Oksana Goncharenko, a leading expert at the Center for Political Conjuncture. “Pavlenko was convenient for everyone because he has been working in the region for a long time, is included in all local plans and is an absolutely systematic person.”

Arkhangelsk electoral passions, coupled with the trial of Mr. Donskoy, resulted in exceptionally low turnout on Sunday. Only 18% of the citizens included in the lists considered it necessary to bring their voice to the polling station. “Until recently, the Arkhangelsk region was a depressed region, characterized by protest voting,” says Ms. Goncharenko, “and the mayoral elections are pure protest voting. Turnout is low, percentages are not impressive, the gap is minimal. Moreover, in Russian politics, choosing in favor of a woman is always a kind of challenge, as well as a sign of general disappointment in power.”

It is still unclear what the unsystematic Larisa Bazanova will do as mayor. Oksana Goncharenko does not exclude the possibility of revising the voting results. The “nano-gap” of 70 votes can easily be eliminated by deeming the fatal ballots invalid. On the other hand, Ms. Bazanova may unexpectedly occupy a convenient place in the alignment of local power groups. Governor Ilya Mikhalchuk himself was recently appointed to his post, and the opportunity to get the Arkhangelsk mayor, who does not have the support of other regional elites, into his team may seem attractive. “In addition, the regional branch of United Russia may show interest in Larisa Bazanova,” says Oksana Goncharenko, “since the staff there is not very strong.”

Natalia ROZHKOVA