"United Russia" received the task of taking two -thirds of places in the new State Duma

So the Kremlin wants to show the world the cohesion of Russians around Putin

United Russia will try to maintain its position in the new composition of the State Duma, having received about the same number of places. A month ago, the party called it a “complicated script”: it is supported by less than a third of voters. But now it has become an installation from the presidential administration (AP). The Kremlin believes that the United Russia should thus demonstrate a high level of support for Vladimir Putin and the Russian authorities to the outside world. And above all, the new US administration, which, according to the Kremlin, is tuned against Russia and will try to influence the Duma elections. But increasing the bar for United Russia means that the “new parties” created this year lose the chances of passing into parliament.

What does the Kremlin want from the party in power

United Russia received new attitudes from the Kremlin to prepare for the State Duma elections in 2021. They were announced at a closed meeting of the presidential administration officials and the party leadership with the fifty deputies of the State Duma, who, as planned, should remain in the new composition of parliament. The purpose of the party in power is to get much more than two -thirds of places in the State Duma (that is, more the constitutional majority ), Alexander Kharichev, head of the department for support for the activities of the State Council, told United Russia. His management oversees all elections in the country and Kharichev is considered one of the closest associates of the curator of domestic politics, the first deputy head of the presidential administration Sergei Kiriyenko. Harichev’s speech “Medusa” was told by a person familiar with the meeting, his information was confirmed by a source close to the AP, and the interlocutor of Medusa, close to the leadership of the United Russia. Kharichev, according to all these sources, said that President Vladimir Putin wants to see such a result of the party in the Duma election.

At the same time, according to VTsIOM, the United Russia rating on November 15 was only 31%. In the region of 30%, it has fluctuated for two years - after the State Duma, thanks to United Russia, approved the increase in the retirement age (before that, at the beginning of the summer of 2018, the rating was about 48%).

Earlier, the United Russia themselves considered, in principle, a “realistic” scenario in which they received two -thirds or a little more places in the State Duma. But here is the repetition of the results of the latest elections to the State Duma - in 2016, YP received 343 chairs in parliament or 76% of seats - it was already considered unfulfilled "for a number of objective reasons that have a negative impact on the political agenda as a whole."

In the districts, the unicorn had previously intended to get at least 200 seats, these installations remained. Therefore, in order to maintain the current position in parliament, they need to be held according to the lists (and half the composition of the parliament is formed on them) more than 140 deputies. To do this, the party must receive more than 62% of the vote by voting on lists - and this is twice the current rating of United Russia.

According to the source of Medusa, close to the AP, followed by Andrei Yarin, the head of the AP Directorate for the Party Act, explained why the Kremlin needed such a high result. “The Americans plan to intervene in our elections, they are propaganda among young people, in the regions there are training seminars how to observe how to discredit power, how to deal with its candidates,” said Yarin in this spirit. In general, everyone needs to rally and show the unity in the face of the enemy - [that] the people support the president and his party, ”the interlocutor of Medusa retells the words of the head of the department.

Two loved ones of the Medusa source believe that the concept of elections to the State Duma could change after the elections in the United States, which did not win Donald Trump (his victory was considered preferable in the Kremlin), but Democrat Joe Bayden, considered hostile to the Russian authorities.

One of the interlocutors of Medusa knows that the results of the election in the United States were discussed at a separate meeting of the Russian Security Council. He suggests that in the interpretation of the security forces there should be a tightening of domestic policy to these results. It was the position of the security forces that could be broadcast by the party members Andrei Yarin, who is considered close to the power block, suggests another interlocutor close to the AP.

According to the sources of Medusa, the presidential administration itself is aware of the problem with the low rating of the party in power. But the “presidential order is an order of the president,” one of them states.

The first deputy head of the United Russia faction in the State Duma Nikolai Pankov, in response to questions about the closed meeting of United Russia with the Presidential Administration, told Medusa that “no one closed it” and that such discussions with deputies would continue.

What else is afraid in the Kremlin

“The main unit for the campaign [in AP] is now a single -mandate district, everyone thinks with districts. But only 20-25 of 225 districts are considered to be problematic for the authorities, 8 of them are in Moscow . They allow the possibility of winning the candidate not from EP, but this does not mean that the United Russians refuse to fight and do not put forward their person, as it was in 2016. Just the opposition in theory can win there, ”the source of Medusa, close to the AP, says.

This problem was also considered in the election strategy of United Russia, which Medusa previously wrote about, primarily in connection with the system of “smart voting” of the opposition politician Alexei Navalny. The AP is now oriented to fight this system, one of the sources of Medusa says. The head of the domestic political unit of AP Sergey Kiriyenko understands that the Navalny project has a limited impact on the voting results, but the fears about this are coming from the president, one of the Medusa interlocutors tells. “The security forces“ sold ”Putin the idea that“ smart voting ”is one of the instruments of Western influence, which could seriously harm the elections, and therefore we must fight it. Sergei Vladilenovich [Kiriyenko] fulfills [assignment], ”he explains.

As exactly in the Kremlin, they plan to fight specifically with the Navalny project, the interlocutors of Medusa do not say. Earlier, a source in the EP itself said that the party of the authorities expect to maintain its positions in single -mandate districts, putting forward a certain type of candidates there. These should be specialists “in a socially significant area or socially approved sphere of activity”, who, moreover, know how to communicate with people: “Hear them, be able to grab a problem.”

And to fight “smart voting” in Moscow, they tried to resort to trolling in social networks. “While the struggle is going on in social networks, but political technologists are already hired for this. In social networks, there is a critic of the deputies elected with the support of CC: “They chose the not those Frikov, Communists-and this is in the liberal city,”-as Medusa described the logic of this struggle close to the federal government.

What the Kremlin and United Russia hope for

In AP, it is hung out that a three -day vote will help the victory of United Russia. According to one of the interlocutors of the "Medusa", it allows us to "model almost any election results." “The calculated KPI by the turnout is 60% of the voters, about the same amount of EP should receive on the lists. Three days give the opportunity to smoothly receive the necessary indicators, adjust them, ”he explains.

In the most problematic regions-large millionaire cities (including Moscow) and territories with low EP rating will be actively used electronic voting. It helps to more effectively involve state employees in the elections.

With such planned indicators for United Russia, the new Prochrevsky party projects (“For truth”, “New People”, a party of direct democracy) and other non -parliamentary parties, according to the domestic political unit of AP, lose the chances of falling into parliament.

“Each party should now work in its niche, for example,“ new people ”in the niche of young people from 18 to 30 years old,“ for truth ” - only with an ultrapatriotic electorate. If the party crawls out of the niche, it will be punished, up to the withdrawal from the elections. Within the niche, it is unrealistic to overcome the desired limit - for example, young people still vote for different political forces, including the Communists, ”says the Medusa interlocutor close to the ap.

In the problematic single -mandate districts, new parties have a chance to hold their candidates: "This is allowed [AP], but is not welcome."

To increase the results of the United Russia, the Kremlin plans to conduct an active counter -propaganda campaign, including against the system opposition. The main obstacle is still considered the Communist Party, as a possible chief beneficiary of the Smart Voting. The counter -propaganda will be allocated in a separate direction in the regional headquarters of the EP. In addition, the party in the authorities plans to intensify at the expense of governors who entered its ranks and headed the party’s branches (now such chapters of the regions are already 24).

“This recognition of a bet on an administrative resource - the governor will try to fulfill the task set by the president with all his might. It is clear that the “Chechen” interest in problem regions will not be demanded, but a good result will still have to be shown, ”says the source of Medusa close to the AP.

It is with the elections to the State Duma that Medusa interlocutors also associate new bills on foreign agents, possible blocking social networks for “discrimination of Russian citizens”, tightening the rally legislation and educational activities only with the approval of officials. “If protests begin, they can be applied while this is a slow -off mine. The security forces are actively inspiring the president that the West is interfering in our elections, so this campaign is almost a war, this is not even a domestic policy - an external one, ”one of the United Russia argues.

And in order to prevent dissatisfaction with possible falsifications, official media actively illuminate voting in America and challenging its results Trump. “Against the backdrop of mail voting and supposedly voting the dead voters, our elections really look like the height of cleanliness with all stumps and electronics,” a political strategist working with the AP grins, who is sure that the US elections were dishonest.

Several interlocutors of Medusa described the new strategy of the Kremlin and United Russia in the elections to the State Duma in the same words: “We now have one party.”

Andrey Pertsev with the participation of Farida Rustamova