The head of the region topped the United Russia list in the Kurultai elections

In the elections to the Kurultai of Bashkiria, United Russia decided to once again rely on the support of financial and industrial groups and the managerial elite. The party's list for the state assembly elections was headed by the head of the region, Rustem Khamitov. Kommersant's interlocutors explain this decision of Mr. Khamitov by saying that he wants to form an absolutely loyal parliament on the eve of his own elections.

Next week, United Russia will complete the procedure for the internal party selection of candidates for elections to the Kurultai of the Republic. The party did not comment on the preliminary results of the primaries yesterday, citing that they had not yet received data from the counting commission. Kommersant obtained a list of candidates for whom party members voted. It has 290 people. The selection of candidates generally confirms United Russia's statements that the personnel of the State Assembly will be renewed by more than half: the pool includes less than a third of the deputies (28 people) currently representing the party in parliament.

Chances to retain their mandates were given to the speaker of the Kurultai, Konstantin Tolkachev, his deputy Rafail Zinnurov, nominated by the public organization “World Kurultai of Bashkirs” (WKB), the chairman of the committee on agrarian issues, Franis Saifullin, and the head of the committee on social policy, Albina Burangulova. The committees on state construction, industry, health care and education can be headed by their current deputy chairmen Rustam Ishmukhametov, Elena Rodina, Rimma Utyasheva and Elvira Yunusova - the heads of the committees themselves, except those mentioned above, are not included in the list. Vice-rector of the Ufa State Academy of Economics and Service Mikhail Bugera, managing director of UMPO Alexander Artyukhov, rector of the Bashkir Agrarian University Ildar Gabitov, head of the regional Pension Fund of the Russian Federation Foat Khantimerov and a number of other deputies were again nominated to the Kurultai.

At the elections to the Kurultai in September, 110 deputies should be elected, 55 in each district and according to party lists. Parties need to overcome the 7% barrier. United Russia announced plans to get “the vast majority of seats in the districts” and at least 65% of the party lists.

At the same time, the party continues to rely on the support of the financial, industrial and managerial elite. Her list includes the management of local divisions of AFK Sistema, Inter RAO UES, Gazprom, the Sibur group and others, in particular, the General Director of OJSC Uraltransnefteprodukt (Transneft) Nail Bagautdinov, the heads of Buribayevsky and Uchalinsky mining and processing plants (UMMC-holding) Rustam Ablaev and Zakaria Gibadullin, from the Bashkir Chemistry group - General Director of Soda Sergey Lobastov, from Inter RAO UES - the head of the Bashkir Generating Company Alexander Simanovsky. The list includes owners and directors of regional road contractors, construction companies, Bashspirt management, former and current officials and security officials. For example, Ufa prosecutor Ramil Khakimov, head of the Tuymazinsky district administration Rashit Khairullin, former Deputy Prime Minister Khalyaf Ishmuratov, ex-State Duma deputy Ernest Kulmukhametov, who runs the Yangan-Tau sanatorium.

This asset is planned to be “diluted” by managers of budgetary institutions - universities and hospitals and rare public figures such as the head of the executive committee of the VKB Rumil Aznabaev, the famous hockey coach Alexander Semak and the artist of the Bashdrama Theater Khurmatulla Utyashev.

United Russia says that representatives of big business were nominated by local party cells. They appear on the list as self-nominated candidates. The fact that Rustem Khamitov is again running the election is explained by the party as a “personal decision” of the head of the region. “If you want to get a normal Kurultai, you need to take part in this, because then you will work with these people,” said the head of the regional executive committee of the party, Albert Miftakhov. Mr. Khamitov headed the party’s list in the 2011 State Duma elections, and a year ago he officially patronized United Russia in the Ufa City Council elections, allowing them to campaign under the slogan “The President’s Team.”

According to the observation of the former deputy head of the presidential administration of Bashkortostan, Rostislav Murzagulov, the list was formed “according to the old rules”: “The new president of the republic is, of course, different from the old one; there was probably a desire to collect a certain cross-section of the public. But we had to take into account market conditions, and they consist in the fact that representatives of enterprises usually help the authorities ensure results in elections. From a tactical point of view, the decision is correct, but perhaps in the future there will still be a trend towards “humanizing” the state assembly, because now, judging by the list, it is still a club of directors.” Political scientist Stanislav Shkel believes that there is a high concentration on the list “ economic party”, which “confirms the thesis that the party in power is only an instrument for the integration of elites.”

Social activist Azamat Galin agrees that conservative approaches have prevailed. “The head of the region is personally interested in the formation of a parliament under his control as the basis for his future election campaign,” he believes.

Natalya Pavlova, Artur Asafiev

Rustem Khamitov is a “locomotive” again