It will be the first vice-speaker of the State Duma, Ivan Melnikov.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation will nominate the first vice-speaker of the State Duma, a professor at Moscow State University, as a candidate for the post of mayor of Moscow. M. V. Lomonosov Ivan Melnikov. Experts note that Mr. Melnikov has a good reputation in an educated urban environment and fits into the will of a typical left-wing voter.

Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, member of the State Duma Committee of Russia Ivan Melnikov
Photo: Ilya Pitalev, Kommersant / buy photo

Mr. Melnikov’s candidacy was supported following a working meeting in the party, and now he must be approved at a conference of the Moscow branch. Previously, the head of the Communist Party faction in the Moscow City Duma Andrei Klychkov, Moscow City Duma deputy Nikolai Gubenko, State Duma deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, first secretary of the Moscow City Committee Valery Rashkin and State Duma deputy Vladimir Rodin were named as possible candidates in the party.

Valery Rashkin stated that Mr. Melnikov is “the second person in the party, a professor at Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov, an experienced manager, author of a lot of bills.” “He has authority not only within the country, but also in the international arena: Ivan Ivanovich was the only one of the entire party to be the chairman of the PACE Commission on Science and Technology,” the deputy noted. “He is very democratic and open in life. When he comes to power, the openness of the Moscow mayor’s office will be guaranteed, unlike what we see now.” Ivan Melnikov was elected to the State Duma five times since 1995, and was also twice nominated by the Communist Party faction for the post of chairman of the lower house.

Political scientist Alexander Kynev considers Mr. Melnikov a “successful candidate”: “He is quite well known and has a good reputation in the educated community. In Moscow, the scientific intelligentsia actively votes; in terms of his image, he fits into the vote of the educated left-wing voter.” The expert noted that Mr. Melnikov “embodies the best that is in the Communist Party of the Russian Federation: not market conditions, not excesses towards nationalism.” He recalled that in 2005 Mr. Melnikov headed the party’s list for the Moscow City Duma in the “MSU troika” (Melnikov, Gubenko, Ulas).

“Ivan Melnikov has always made a very good impression on me,” oppositionist Alexei Navalny wrote on his Twitter microblog. “He is one of the best leaders in the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. A decent guy."

Let us remember that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is actually the only party other than United Russia that should not have problems overcoming the municipal filter: the Communists have 204 deputies in 108 districts (a mayoral candidate needs to collect 110 signatures).

The Moscow City Duma's resolution on calling elections will be published on June 11. Thus, the election campaign starts on June 12.

In addition to Sergei Sobyanin, Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin and Alexei Navalny have already announced their desire to run for mayor. The nomination of Mikhail Prokhorov, who may refuse to participate in the campaign due to the presence of foreign assets, has not yet been announced. The Civic Platform named his sister Irina Prokhorova as a likely candidate. A Just Russia calls the leader of the Moscow branch, State Duma deputy Alexander Ageev, a possible contender. The LDPR candidate for the post of mayor was the first deputy head of the LDPR faction in the State Duma, Vladimir Ovsyannikov. In addition, the leader of the Green Alliance, Oleg Mitvol, who previously planned to participate in the mayoral elections of Yekaterinburg, may also run for mayor.

Taisiya Bekbulatova

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation has decided on a candidate for the post of mayor of Moscow