Mikhail Prokhorov had to leave the party he created, slamming the door loudly / M. Stulov / Vedomosti

Businessman Mikhail Prokhorov and his supporters left the Civic Platform. This happened on March 13 at an extraordinary meeting of the party's Federal Civil Committee (FCC), convened at Prokhorov's insistence, after some party members took part in the Anti-Maidan march on February 21. Another reason was the persecution of FCC member musician Andrei Makarevich - in particular, a resolution was adopted at a party conference in Novosibirsk demanding his exclusion from the FCC.

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LDPR for the intelligentsia

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Before the meeting, Prokhorov unexpectedly announced a meeting of the party's federal political committee (FPC), six of its eight members proposed removing Rifat Shaikhutdinov from his post as head of the FPC, and he was removed by a majority vote. "I don't want the Civil Platform to turn into RPR-Parnas, much less into Navalny's party. And I hope that Mikhail Dmitrievich doesn't want to turn into Khodorkovsky," Shaikhutdinov said in response.

At the FGC meeting, lawyer Mikhail Barschevsky announced his withdrawal from the party, and was supported by actor Leonid Yarmolnik and journalist Stanislav Kucher. The businessman's sister, Irina Prokhorova, emphasized that the key moment for determining the party's future was the support of the majority of regional branches for the annexation of Crimea. Prokhorov himself stated that he does not aim to get into the State Duma, especially at the cost of betraying his convictions, and suggests that all FGC and FPC members leave the party. This decision was supported by everyone except FSB Colonel Sergei Militsky and Shaikhutdinov, who said that he could not support Prokhorov's "betrayal."

Where does the money come from?

Shaikhutdinov stated that 11 companies give money to the party, and Prokhorov has not financed the party for a year. At the FGC meeting, it was announced that since 2013, the party has received 258 million rubles in donations from 141 individuals and 56 legal entities close to Prokhorov, and "not a ruble has come through Shaikhutdinov's line."

Prokhorov also proposed to raise the issue of its liquidation or name change at the next congress of the Civil Platform. In his opinion, due to limited political competition and the withdrawal of candidates in the regions, "it is pointless for independent people to be on the political platform," and the party has been discredited by statements against Makarevich. However, two hours after the meeting, Shaikhutdinov announced that the two remaining FPC members (himself and Militsky) had re-elected him as the party's leader. Former FPC secretary Ksenia Zelentsova explained that FPC decisions must be made by a majority of the list (11 people), so after six people left the committee, it lost its legitimacy. And to form a new FPC composition, it is necessary to hold a congress, which either the FPC, or the audit commission (which was also dissolved), or at least two-thirds of the regional branches have the right to convene, Zelentsova clarified.

"Civic Platform" was associated with Prokhorov, but he himself repeatedly avoided participation in politics, recalls political scientist Alexander Pozhalov: "The only time he participated in politics was the presidential elections. After that, Prokhorov demonstrated only expectations, on which this party was created." Thus, the party missed the 2013 Moscow mayoral elections, and in the 2014 Moscow City Duma elections it nominated only six candidates and failed to carry any of them, the expert emphasizes: "The same happened in the regional elections, everyone expected the consolidation of high-status regional businessmen around them, but this did not happen." This year, elections will be held in many large cities, where there is a noticeable share of the liberal electorate, so now the party needs to present new faces, Pozhalov believes. In his opinion, the future of the Civil Platform will depend on whether its leadership can attract supporters of patriotic liberal views, and whether liberals who shared the ideas of the FGC members can unite around RPR-Parnas.

Political scientist Yevgeny Minchenko believes that the Kremlin is in no hurry to fill the liberal field with a new political player: "Civic Platform" was not interfered with in party building, but the main thing for the Kremlin is that it does not cross the line beyond which other parties begin to be responsible. However, the current leader of the party is almost unknown to anyone, and in this form it can hardly count on votes, the expert notes: "The party may turn out to be a dormant project, in regional elections it can be used as a "rocket carrier", and new faces can be brought in for the federal elections."

The chances of the "Civic Platform" are low because its main resource was Prokhorov, says political scientist Dmitry Oreshkin. Shaikhutdinov was imposed on Prokhorov, but now, apparently, other conditions have begun to be dictated, the expert believes. In his opinion, the Kremlin understands that Prokhorov's electorate is large and growing, so they need to be involved in the electoral process and neutralized: "The "Civic Platform" has a chance as the "LDPR for the intelligentsia" - it will be a spoiler party not for another party, but for the advanced electorate."

Without Mikhail Prokhorov, the Civil Platform will become a dormant project