Translated material
Chirikova elections: for and against
The nomination of Evgenia Chirikova candidate for mayor Khimki was expected. But what awaits her in these elections - success or failure? The authorities did a lot to be able to win in the elections. True, colleagues in the “opposition shop” made a lot to lose a lot. How the case will end - depends on other factors.
The applicant for the post of head of the Khimki Moscow Region “From the opposition” expectedly became the main defender of the Khimki forest, Yevgeny Chirikov. Then the power of the brand worked, and the fact that Khimki did not give up anywhere. And for Chirikova it is a hometown.
The mayor’s elections in Khimki are indicative of several positions at once. The first and most obvious: they talked too much about the second largest population near Moscow. And the ever -cutting forest , and deceived equity holders and other scandals with the participation of the local city hall, such as the reburial of military pilots and rumors about the demolition of the monument to them against the backdrop of the transfer of a “bronze soldier” in Estonia.
Secondly, Khimki is a kind of maturity exam for a political opposition in Russia (see Forest mayor and the fate of the “Swamp Opposition”). At least the one that she declared herself after the capital's rallies. Chirikova is indeed a strong candidate, in the mayor’s last elections she gained 15 percent and took third place, and then she did not have all -Russian fame. In addition, the support of the opposition candidate is expressed by Mikhail Prokhorov, and he was already invested in the opposition authorities of politicians. And the mood has changed since then: in the State Duma elections in the same Khimki, United Russia gained less than 35 percent, only 10 percent ahead of the Communists.
In addition, in the region the new governor is Sergey Shoigu, who reads his people in the chair. In Khimki, the acting candidate will be highly likely to be the acting Mayor Oleg Shakhov. The mayor of the Varangian, and besides, in the Khimki himself, noted only by the fact that just the head of the FSU “Roads of Russia” was eranding the route of the highway through Khimkinsky, which intensively defended Chirikov. Good taste has a new superior authorities, just a gift to any oppositionist.
The proximity to the capital greatly complicates the process of elected manipulations for the authorities. You can’t block the information channels, because you can agitate right in Moscow when people go from work. In addition, a significant part of the townspeople uses the Internet. Yes, and civilian activists will probably try to cover all polling stations with a network of observers, and the federal media will follow the elections (after all, Khimki is an all -Russian political brand). So it will not be possible to fade the results, too.
At least for the reason that the system opposition has already done almost everything so that the candidate from the authorities won in the elections. The Communists, Zhirinovites and Yablok, who are going to put their candidates for the mayor’s post, refused to support her . And the leader of the local “Yabloko” Igor Belousov in the mayor’s previous elections bypassed the same Chirikov’s voices. The noble fighter for ecology, the former metropolitan prefect and deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor Oleg Mitnol , gathering in the elections. He wants to go to mayors from his own party "Green", that is, it turns out to be a natural spoiler of the same Evgenia Chirikova. So there will be no “single candidate from the opposition”, and therefore there are the chances of victory of any candidate from the authorities.
Evgenia Chirikova. Shot: Channel One
There are other factors affecting the elections of a district scale. For example, the popularity of the governor.
It is also not clear what position will take the former mayor of Khimki Yuri Kobrovin and other city businessmen (including “authoritative businessmen”). It is unlikely that they will be strongly delighted with Chirikova as mayor, although they may well take a neutral position.
In addition, Chirikova is a woman who reduces her chances of that part of the electorate that is distrustful of women in power. Yes, and the same Shoigu focuses that the mayor should be a “strong business executive”. That is, not Chirikov.
Finally, it is not clear how much they want to “ride” the candidate Shoigu in the city. The request for updating the population was undoubtedly present, but the dismissal of Strelchenko is just a response to this request. Khimki’s problems are also characteristic of other cities close to Moscow - traffic jams, lack of jobs at the place of residence (and as a result - everyday trips to Moscow), the high cost of housing, and so on. In many ways, the success or the failure of the candidate from the authorities depends on how tired of these problems.
In general, a standard election campaign of a district scale. Opponents of the authorities in such elections defeated more than once even in the era of Putin's stability. Whether this time they can - a question. But nothing is impossible in such an outcome.