On Wednesday, the public organization Rodina-the Congress of Russian Communities had its congress. The informal leader of the organization and Russian Permanent Representative in NATO Dmitry Rogozin recommended members of the organization to run in the elections together with United Russia and the All-Russian Popular Front. Most participants in the congress supported this proposal. However, some delegates called cooperation as a time-serving measure.
The Congress of Russian Communities is a public organization and cannot run in the elections independently, the Moskovsky Komsomolets notes. The only chance to be really engaged in the election campaign is to delegate its members to the election lists of the parties. The prospects for cooperation between the Congress of the Russian Communities, the All-Russian Popular Front and United Russia have been discussed for a long time. The major intrigue up to the last moment was whether Rogozin will be put on the lists of the ruling party. Before the congress Rogozin noted that he will not run in the elections personally.
According to Kommersant sources, after Dmitry Rogozin’s speech at the Yaroslavl World Political Forum, the ruling party decided not “to play the national card,” because the leadership of the North Caucasus republics could have disliked Rogozin’s putting on the United Russia party list. Now Rogozin will go to Brussels to return probably by the presidential elections.
As for the Congress of the Russian Communities the newspaper noted that the congress was offered three scenarios: not to run in the State Duma elections, form “a coalition” with various parties or conclude a coalition agreement with the election bloc, which Vladimir Putin heads. Dmitry Rogozin noted that the choice should be “pragmatic”, and he did it personally in favour of the prime minister, “It is enough to be getting frozen at the Russian marches, it is high time to move to the offices, where strategic decisions are taken about the future of the country.” It is possible “to step away from the principles” in order “to integrate in the authorities,” as some delegates acknowledged. Finally they supported the decision of their leader in a majority vote.
Far from all participants in the congress agreed with Rogozin, the Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. Chairman of the Great Russia Party Andrei Savelyev said from the floor that he cannot support Vladimir Putin, United Russia and the All-Russian Popular Front, as the main alleged fakers of the elections, in which the Congress of the Russian Communities-Rodina cannot run all the same. After this statement the congress hall burst into applauses. A deputy of the Novosibirsk city council Alexander Lyulko, who took the floor later, blamed the current authorities that the latter put into prison the activists of the All-Russian Popular Front-Rodina organization on extremism accusations.