The most secret candidate

The “All -Russian” collection of signatures for Putin turned into a quest in Yekaterinburg. Here, the proceeding was much quieter than events in support of Navalny and Sobchak

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More recently, in Yekaterinburg , the headquarters of Ksenia Sobchak opened with Pompa, a meeting of supporters of Alexei Navalny was held in the city center, the leader of the Russian Monarchical Party, a native of Yekaterinburg Anton Bakov, announced his participation in the race. Compared to these events, the collection of signatures in support of another candidate for the presidency remained almost unlit. On the day when the signatures for Vladimir Putin were collected in the hosting “United Russia” throughout the country, the inhabitants of the Ural millionaire, who wanted to support the current ruler, could hardly find information about where and how to do it.

The election man as a team of a candidate

The fact that United Russia went to meet the volunteers and for one day provided them with their adopted signatures for the candidate Putin, publicly declared the secretary of the party council of the party Andrei Turchak. The signatures decided to collect in the reception of the country on Sunday, despite the fact that by Friday, more than 400 thousand autographs were collected for Putin with the required 300 thousand.

In Yekaterinburg, they were in no hurry to spread good news. What address is the collection of signatures? What time? There was not a word about this even on the website of the local branch of EP. The fact is that a week earlier in the city a scandal erupted related to the collection of signatures for the main applicant.

The public organization “Patriots of Russia” took up the current president. One of her activists, Eldar Valliulin, coordinated the work of volunteers in one of the shopping centers of Yekaterinburg and gave media comments. But later it turned out that Valiullin is a member of the city election commission. That is, the representative of the very department that should evaluate the quality of the collected autographs and ensure equal conditions for all participants in the race. That is, it has no legal right to participate in any election events, and even more so to collect autographs for one of the candidates.

Eldar Valliulin coordinated the work of volunteers to collect signatures for Putin in one of the shopping centers of Yekaterinburg and gave the media comments. But later it turned out that Valiullin is a member of the city election commission

The chairman of the local election commission Ilya Zakharov tried to prove that Valiullin did not collect the signatures himself, but was simply present at the place of the fee, but it was too late - the grade was led away from the hut, and the head of the CEC Ella Pamfilova intervened. In addition, it turned out that not a separate member of the election commission, but the commission itself clearly shows sympathy for Putin: information about where you can subscribe to the president appeared on the official website of the department. The article was complained by the Deputy Chairman of the Yabloko party Nikolai Rybakov, soon the material was deleted.

Probably, it was with these events that the silence was connected in which the All -Russian day of collecting signatures for Vladimir Putin drowned. People who “heard somewhere” came to the headquarters of “United Russia”, whom “someone invited” who “just went to the scenes”. Nevertheless, there were a lot of them - at least a hundred people passed until two in the afternoon. Even more signatories gathered a point in one of the shopping centers, although there was no excitement near the rack.

"Not for the collective farmer!"

“We are no longer students, we are working people, we pay a mortgage,” says one of the two volunteers at the persistent in front of the Prooputinsky stand. The young man tells that he was ordered by Vladimir Vladimirovich to help Vladimir Vladimirovich, he does not receive any money for his work - only satisfaction from the feeling of a fulfillment. “I believe that living under Putin has become better,” he explains. - We do not want to be like in the nineties! Well, we ourselves, of course, do not know how it was there, we were still small, ”he reports, looking back at his partner. “But you understand what we are talking about, yes?”

The point in the shopping center gathered more than 350 signatures in two days - this is one of the best results, as the curator told volunteers. Basically, people of 40-50 years old, family, with children come to Putin's support. Actually, this is an audience of a shopping center where those who can afford it make purchases. And these people are generally satisfied with how they live in the country.

When asked why she supports the president, the lady replies: "Because she came here alive." She explains that she is grateful to the president for a peaceful sky above her head when there are enemies around

“And for whom? No, tell me, who else to vote for?! - one of Putin’s supporters in response to the question about his motives is angrily erupted. - Not for the collective farmer! Not for Zhirinovsky?! I respect Putin, I like his policy. They announced the sanctions to us - and we in response! And right that sanctions. Why should we have Polish apples? It’s better to help our farmers! ”

Some carry their signature to the point, succumbing to the impulse. “I came here for a shelf. I look - they collect signatures, give, and I will subscribe, ”the man explains. Others specifically come to the shopping center, as an elderly woman from the other end of the city. "Have you heard that you have already collected the necessary number of signatures?" - the volunteers ask her. "I heard, so what, this is my civic duty." When asked why she supports the president, another lady replies: "Because she came here alive." She explains that she is grateful to the president for a peaceful sky above her head when there are enemies around.

Moms with strollers, couples, pensioners are suitable for volunteers with an interval of five minutes. Young people will stay at the counter until the evening, and then pass the signature sheets to the curator. If the task of Putin’s supporters was to conduct the most modest collection of signatures in the history of Russian politics, one might say that they coped with a bang.