Amur communists were left without a candidate for governor Yuri Fokin

On Saturday, at an extraordinary conference of the Amur regional committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Communists planned to officially announce the nomination of the former head of the regional Internal Affairs Directorate, Major General Reserve Yuri Fokin, as a candidate for governor of the Amur region. Early elections for the head of the region are scheduled for September; Mr. Fokin agreed to participate in them about a month ago, but on the evening of June 12 he suddenly withdrew his candidacy, telling party members that he was “unable to resist and tolerate pressure.” United Russia does not comment on the failed candidate’s statement about threats.

Until the very end, the Amur communists tried not to disclose information about their candidate for the post of governor of the Amur region. As the first secretary of the regional party committee, Roman Kobyzov, told Kommersant, the ex-chief of the regional police department, Yuri Fokin, gave his consent to run for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation more than a month ago, and in May all the necessary documents were prepared. “The information quickly penetrated the government’s election headquarters and caused great concern. In this situation, the authorities went to great lengths. Unprecedented pressure was put on the candidate. Both former colleagues and current high-ranking officials of the region came forward with threats and persuasion. Fokin was adamant, then sophisticated methods were used - threats to loved ones, children: their career, health, reputation,” said Mr. Kobyzov.

Deputies from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation hold seven seats in the regional legislative assembly out of 36 (the LDPR has the same size faction) and three seats out of 30 in the Blagoveshchensk City Duma. According to the leadership of the regional committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, on the evening of July 12, the former head of the Internal Affairs Directorate for the Amur Region apologized to the conference delegates, saying that he was “unable to resist and tolerate pressure.” “According to him, a special group was ready to fly out from Moscow to arrest and transport him to Moscow. There is a threat hanging over children and elderly parents. It is obvious that the authorities are afraid of an honest and open struggle and are not able to govern without threats, reprisals, pressure, lies, black technologies and administrative resources,” said Roman Kobyzov, calling on fellow party members to mobilize. As a result, the conference delegates decided not to close it until June 27. During this time, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation plans to decide on a new candidate for governor of the Amur region.

Yuri Fokin himself remains unavailable for comment; the Amur regional branch of United Russia did not comment on the situation. A source in the regional department, on condition of anonymity, told Kommersant that the Amur United Russia members have not yet developed an official position. “It seems that everything will depend on the reaction of the center, so there is no need to wait for official comments until Monday morning, Moscow time,” he noted. Local political observers believe that United Russia could indeed use administrative resources. “But now, most likely, the communists are trying to make the most of the situation - if not in a practical sense, then at least in an informational sense,” says Evgeny Ogorodsky.

So far, only State Duma deputy from the LDPR Ivan Abramov has submitted documents for registration as a candidate for the gubernatorial elections to the regional electoral committee of the Amur region. The United Russia primaries were won by the acting governor of the region, Alexander Kozlov, who will become the candidate of the party in power. According to preliminary information, the regional branch of A Just Russia will nominate Dmitry Zharovsky, deputy chairman of the legislative assembly committee, as its candidate. Representatives of law enforcement agencies did not comment on Yuri Fokin’s statements yesterday.

Pavel Koshelenko, Blagoveshchensk

The reserve major general starred himself