Let me explain in simple terms why the Democratic Coalition and RPR-PARNAS initiative with primaries and “people’s lists” is so important.
Let’s speak concretely and not get theoretical. Take Kaluga Region. In September, elections to the Legislative Assembly will be held there.
What do all of us who don’t live there care about? We simply want honest, independent people to be elected there—people who will represent the political interests of people like us: normal citizens who do not want polygamy, but do want direct elections for mayors and governors, fair tax redistribution, and a fight against corruption.
For example, we want deputies in the Kaluga Regional Legislative Assembly who will initiate the adoption of bill #20.
What are the residents of Kaluga Region interested in? The same things we are, except they also need their deputies to stay connected to them and work on solving their problems.
So, we’ve established that we have common interests. There’s no point in discussing it at length—everyone already understands: our elections are a confrontation with United Russia, with its drive to seize an absolute majority in every elected body.
That means putting together our list is, in effect, designing an electoral weapon against United Russia.
Who should be first, and who second? Someone more aggressive or more moderate? Someone who writes, or someone who rallies? Experienced or fresh-faced? And so on and so forth. We need to answer all these questions, because the “firepower” of our electoral weapon depends on them.
Now for the practical side:
In Kaluga, we already have six very strong candidates:
- Alexei Dulenkov, entrepreneur, twice elected to the Council of Deputies in the city of Golitsyno[ - Andrei Zaya]({{URL_5}})kin, physicist, co-founder of the “Dissernet[” project - Tatyana Ko]({{URL_6}})tlyar, deputy of the Obninsk City Assembly, human rights activist. She has been elected many times both to the legislative assembly and the city council. In Obninsk, she gets up to 5[0% - Mikhail Sa]({{URL_7}})zonov, entrepreneur working in the tourism busine[ss - Sergei ]({{URL_8}})Fadeev, chairman of the Kaluga regional branch of the Democratic Choice party, former deputy of the Kaluga Regional Legislative Asse[mbly - Vitaly Ch]({{URL_9}})ernikov, chairman of the executive committee of the Kaluga Region Public Anti-Corruption Committee, former mayor of Kaluga.
And there will be more candidates.
EVERY one of them would make an excellent deputy. I’d be ready to vote for any of them. But even if we succeed, not all of them will become deputies.
The Kaluga Regional Legislative Assembly has 40 deputies, half of whom are elected by party lists. So, roughly speaking and simplifying a bit, 5% gets us one deputy, 10% gets us two, 15% gets us three. As you can see, a candidate’s place on the list matters enormously.
Who should decide this? As I said, these are not just names—this is the design of our weapon: if we want more focus on science during the campaign, we take Zayakin; if we want more on local issues, we take Kotlyar; if we want to go harder at the governor, we take Fadeev, and so on. (All of this is conditional, just for illustration.)
In other words, by choosing who goes at the top of the list, we automatically determine the style of the campaign.
Right now, you have two options:
- Say: we trust Navalny, Kasyanov, and Milov—let them decide; - Choose for yourselves in the primaries.
Personally, I am completely in favor of the second option. Because a) the residents of Kaluga Region will decide this better than I can, and b) I want the candidates themselves to be active—to chase after voters and make their case to them. Whoever is better at persuading people in the primaries will also perform better in the main election.
That’s all. At its core, the question of primaries comes down to whether we believe in democracy and in the idea that competition, debate, and voting determine the best candidate.
I do.
If you also believe in democracy and live in Kaluga, Kostroma, or Novosibirsk Region, go here and register as a voter.
If you don’t just believe, but want to be part of the election team, then sign up as a volunteer. Headquarters are already open in all three cities.
If you live elsewhere but want to help build this list-weapon against United Russia, then sign up as a volunteer here.