What terrible numbers for the nationwide leader, V. V. Putin, and his entire organized criminal group.
No matter how much of Arkady Mamontov you cook up in a spoon and force-feed to the public, the comedown will come anyway.
People were convinced that the Banderites (followers of Stepan Bandera, used in Russian propaganda as a slur for Ukrainian nationalists) were already at the border. That they were crucifying children and laughing, waving American flags. That any minute now they would cross the border on motorcycles with sidecars.
For a year, people waited for the punitive forces, but they never came. Instead, while we were all looking toward the front line, the bosses stole something else in the rear.
While I was in Kostroma meeting with voters, I caught this mood: people are tired of hearing about Ukraine; they'd rather talk about major building repairs already.
That is exactly why United Russia so badly needs gerrymandering right now: urban voters are already sick of it, so they rushed to redraw single-member districts for the 2016 Duma elections in a way that dilutes residents of the largest cities (Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, and others) with rural voters, where people watch more television and election fraud is easier.
What matters now is not just watching these political changes, but actively helping bring them about: come join us to work on the Kostroma campaign and support it financially.
At these meetings, we talk about real problems: rising prices, the crisis, and corruption.