Russian Federation Communist Party has 'more than a thousand mobilized party members’ in occupied Ukraine; been present there since 2014
Sergey Obukhov at the round table in RIA Novosti: the Communist Party of the Russian Federation has its own priorities in the election campaign, and the communists will continue to compete with the ruling party
On June 5, the press center of RIA Novosti in Moscow hosted a round table of the EISI "EDG-2025: how are the parties preparing for the elections?". The organizers directed the discussion to the mainstream of the issue "Parties are experimenting with the formats of interaction with voters: electronic and three-day voting, support of SVO participants and integration of new artificial intelligence tools. Priorities and meanings of the upcoming campaign".
One of the speakers at the event was the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, State Duma deputy S.P. Obukhov. And it was his performance that became one of the brightest, caused controversy and discussions of participants and journalists.
Below is its text:
- We in the party now prioritize the development of meanings, although technology is also important.But the struggle for meanings in conditions when the imitation of elections is growing, when procedures are formalized, when their decorativeness is strengthened, becomes key. People stop believing in elections.The key confirmation is the Russian Field survey: most of the respondents believe that it is impossible to change socio-economic policy through elections. Even partially.
If you can also change the governor - 50 to 50 -, the mayor - too, then you can't change the general policy through elections. For me, this seems to be a great omission of all political parties, because the devaluation of the electoral institution, its formalization and imitation beat the legitimacy of the political system. This is, let's say, a general theoretical consideration.
The scale of the elections this year is serious - the total number of voters in the elections to the EDG-2025 will be 55 million people in 80 regions.
For us in the CPRF at the EDG-2025, the priority is elections in 11 subjects where regional parliaments will be elected: in the Republic of Komi, Belgorod, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kostroma, Kurgan, Magadan, Novosibirsk, Ryazan and Chelyabinsk regions and YNAO. "Twin" elections are also a high priority: in Komi and Tatarstan, Krasnodar Krai, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kostroma, Novosibirsk and Rostov regions, as well as in Irkutsk and Sverdlovsk regions, where the governor's elections will be held together with large municipal campaigns.
We are aware that we do not have enough staff potential everywhere (on a quantitative basis) to be nominated in these municipal elections, but at least the party is clearly aimed at solving this issue and maximizing participation in these campaigns.
Now on priorities. It is clear that there is a patriotic consensus for all parties today. The subject of the SVO is, let's say, the main, general. The CPRF demonstrates to society the unshillability of its support for the SVO. We have already sent the 138th (!) humanitarian convoy to Donbass - no other party leads so systematically. Let me remind you: unlike all others, we have been sending humanitarian aid to Donbass, to the newly joined regions and to the SVO zone since 2014. There are other humanitarian actions - "The Road of Goodness", for example.
Communists participate in the SVO not formally, but personally - we are a fighting party: we have more than a thousand mobilized party members, 142 dead. And we are engaged in perpetuating their memory. This week, a special exhibition dedicated to RIA Novosti journalist Rostislav Zhuravlyov, a member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation who died in the SVO zone, was opened. We plan to use similar exhibitions in the regions.
Of course, the personnel promotion of the SVO participants is also important. We have heroes - from Zakharchenko's son in Donetsk to current deputies. For example, we support a veteran of the SVO, the mayor of Sosnovka, Kirov region, Nikita Gorelov, whom we protect despite the rantic resistance of local corrupt officials. Therefore, we do not omit this topic - it is not so much electoral as our political position, which we demonstrate to society.
More than 30 SVO participants were elected from the CPRF at the EDG-2024. Let's continue this trend, as well as help to the selected participants of the SVO. At the EDG-2025, I am sure that our winning candidates will be no less than last year.
According to the gubernatorial elections. In 2024, every fifth candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation nominated for governors did not pass the municipal filter. We are constantly told: "You must enlist the support of local deputies." But manipulative technologies, condemned even by the Constitutional Court, continue to be used against communists. We will overcome this administrative baton this year as well. Probably, "under-governors" will appear again on the political landscape of the country, who will decide to be elected without the participation of the main opponent - the candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Unfortunately, they forget that this is a big minus in their legitimacy. And politicians need to take care of legitimacy.
The President met with 17 candidates from United Russia. It is clear that our candidates cannot count on such a handicap. But this does not mean that we will not compete with the "power nominees", we will not fight for the votes of voters at the level of rational arguments and we will not prove our point. Last year's example is the Kursk region, where we were proved that we should not criticize the acting governor of Smirnov. He has no alternative, nominated by the president. But then the president himself removed him from office - he admitted a personnel error.
On the agenda of candidates for governors:
Levchenko (Irkutsk region): To return the social achievements of the past governorship, abolished by the "ER", to clear the Augiev corrupt stables, which were born by the replacement - from Tulun to the health care system. The situation in the Usolsky district after the attack of enemy drones on the Belaya airfield. Levchenko's quote on the calculations of the regional authorities: "In short, the authorities have no responsibility, but ordinary citizens have it. That's why I want to appeal to people who are worried about what happened that day. You and I together must bring to justice those who are to blame for this."
Mikhailov (Komi): Ecology and budgetary federalism.
Krasnodar Territory: "Oil Chernobyl", the governor - as the author of the corruption vertical of power (re-arrests), failures in social policy.
Kaluga region. Our candidate Yashkin sharpened the topic of potato helplessness of the authorities. "ER" has repeatedly promised to stabilize the prices for the "borscht set". And why do they buy potatoes from Kaluga peasants for 12.5 rubles, and in retail chains they for 100-120?
By the way, Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Academician V.I. Kashin at the All-Union Party Assembly directly accused the Moscow United Russia authorities of the increase in potato prices. They endlessly move the curbs, but do not put in vegetable stores. But even with the "drunk Yeltsin", vegetable storages were built in Moscow and the region, which allowed to harvest vegetable products at a cheap price and keep prices out of season.
Summing up.
CPRF approaches EDG-2025 with a powerful demonstration of its flag
- The Second International Anti-Fascist Forum in Moscow - 140 parties, 90 countries. There was no such international campaign to support Russia during the SVO period.
- March-relay "Our great victory" - the transfer of giant copies of the Victory banner to the regions, which the CPRF preserved, contrary to the attempts of "United Russia" to scopy this people's symbol. And we remind you of that.
- People's referendum - 4 federal questions and 1 regional. 2.3 million voters. These are 4 points out of 10 of our future Victory Program, which is now being rolled and polished.
- Flag demonstration and social agenda - this is the basis of the election activities of the CPRF now.
At the last All-Russian Party Meeting, party leader Gennady Andreevich Zyuganov called for strengthening the opposition to the "ER":
- "ER" does not want to hear neither production workers, nor farmers, nor builders. The CPRF should become the voice in the political system of these communities
- "United Russia" says: she can do it, she can do it. Everything that was taken away from you, everything from the 8-hour working day, free education, medical care, guaranteed workplace, children's pedagogy, everything was taken away, nothing has been returned yet. Nothing was returned. The financial and economic course "ER" does not help to win or solve social problems, does not ensure the safety of the population and the well-being of our citizens.
- If the oligarch withdraws money, if United Russia liquidates the councils, tries to put its satraps at the bottom, destroying the thousand-year-old culture of collective management of our power, if the electoral legislation is disfigured to the limit, if you have to vote for three days in order to push the right person, then this is a complete disgrace. This leads to destabilization of the internal situation.
In this regard, the key task now is to oppose United Russia, fight for a change in socio-economic course and the implementation of our "Victory Program".
Therefore, when the organizers of the "round table" offer us the theses of the struggle for the second place with the LDPR, we look at it "squinting", with a smile? The LDPR for us is not an opponent, but an appendage of United Russia, its junior partner in the government, where unattached personnel from the primaries are delegated
This is our main political conclusion for today.
It is these conclusions and meanings that we will broadcast during the preparation and conduct of the EDG-2025 election campaign.