Dmitry Medvedev was again not included in his own party's list. It was headed by Sergei Lavrov and Sergei Sobyanin. "United Russia" will go to elections for the first time in 19 years as Putin's party

This was decided at the United Russia congress

The first stage of the pre-election congress of United Russia took place in Moscow. Its main result is that the chairman of the party, ex-president, now deputy chairman of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, was again not included in the list of party candidates, although he tried very hard to do so.

In January , Vedomosti and RBC wrote that the presidential administration and United Russia had already agreed on the “basic option” - the “five” led by Medvedev. Sources of publications explained this by the politician’s supposedly high rating. Meduza’s interlocutors close to the AP already said then that Medvedev might not be on the list again - because in fact the deputy chairman of the Security Council has low popularity. They pointed out that Medvedev himself really wants to lead United Russia in order to “recapitalize his image” and then lay claim to the post of Speaker of the State Duma.

The AP political bloc understood that with Medvedev at the head of the list, it would be much more difficult for the Kremlin to provide the party in power with the desired KPIs: “He is clearly pro-war. And people are tired of the war.” As during the 2021 campaign, the inclusion of Medvedev on the list was opposed by State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, who wants to retain his position, and the head of the political bloc, Sergei Kiriyenko.

In mid-June, Meduza wrote that Dmitry Medvedev was actively lobbying for the “troika” option at the top of the list - with himself, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and “military correspondent” Yevgeny Poddubny. Kommersant later wrote about this plan. However, Meduza’s interlocutors close to the AP then again emphasized that Medvedev may not be on the United Russia list, unlike Sobyanin and Poddubny: they were named among the agreed upon candidates.

The final top five of the EP list looks like this. Number one is Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The second is Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. They are followed by: the head of the headquarters of the pro-government children's movement "Youth Army", a war veteran, Vladislav Golovin; children's ombudsman and wife of Orthodox oligarch Konstantin Malofeeva Maria Lvova-Belova; "military correspondent" Evgeniy Poddubny.

According to Meduza’s interlocutor close to the AP, the option with Lavrov, Lvova-Belova and Golovin “took shape on Friday-Saturday,” and the final plan was formed by President Vladimir Putin. As Meduza previously wrote , the candidacies of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the head of the Youth Army headquarters were not discussed at the beginning of June. The name Lvova-Belova did not appear on any of the forecast lists.

RBC reported in the middle of the week that United Russia will be led to the elections by Sergei Sobyanin. “There was a consensus option for Sobyanin - for United Russia and the political bloc, for United Russia except for Medvedev himself, of course,” Meduza’s interlocutor in the party in power smiles sadly.

An interlocutor close to the political bloc emphasized: “The first issue is a surprise for everyone involved in preparing the event.” Lavrov’s candidacy, despite not having the highest rating , he does not consider Lavrov’s candidacy to be problematic - the minister will not interfere in the work of the political bloc in conducting the United Russia campaign, “to outline his vision, as Medvedev would try to do.”

At the same time, another interlocutor close to the AP calls the members of the five except Lavrov and Sobyanin “no-names who are also not related to the party.” And a source in the United Russia apparatus clarifies: “The authority of the Moscow mayor is an understandable asset, but there is a risk of it being eroded by figures whose merits in the field of domestic politics and public administration are not obvious even to the party leadership.” Sobyanin himself, in his words, “to put it mildly, is dissatisfied with this proximity”: “He signed up for a different composition.”

At the beginning of the United Russia congress, Vladimir Putin made a welcoming speech. He assured that the elections “will be held within the period established by law.” This plan was defended by the political bloc and the information bloc of the AP, while the security forces lobbied for the postponement of the elections (Meduza wrote about this here ).

The president promised to take the development of the Russian economy to a new level and scolded “politician bloggers” who do not want to leave messengers and their offices. United Russia posters placed at the congress declared it the “party of the president.” The slogan on the posters said: “Being Za Putin is the basic minimum.” Earlier, Meduza wrote that United Russia wants to build a campaign on its positioning as “Putin’s party.”

“Not having a chairman at the top of the list makes this positioning easier. Lavrov and Sobyanin are Putin’s people, his representatives, everything is clear,” an interlocutor close to the AP explained to Meduza.

He did not rule out that the KPIs for the results of the game after the nomination of the first five could ultimately be lowered. According to him, nominating the “strong business executive” Sobyanin as number one on the list could increase the party’s rating or at least stop its decline: “It’s unlikely to work with Lavrov. Sobyanin is on the list, but he’s second, you can’t focus the campaign on him.”

Andrey Pertsev