The 550-Ruble Strategy
Text version
0:05
So, here’s the situation: less than a week remains until the election, and there are still
0:09
a huge number of people who don’t know how they should
0:12
vote.
0:13
Especially for you, I’m now going to lay out the simplest, but very effective, strategy
0:18
— for how to make use of your vote in this election.
0:21
Personally, I don’t consider this election a real election at all, but if you’ve still decided
0:26
to take part, then here’s an action plan for you
0:28
— I also call it the 550-ruble strategy.
0:31
So. When you vote in an election, it’s important to remember that you’re not
0:35
just dropping a ballot into the box for some party
0:38
— you’re giving them money.
0:40
By law, our parties receive state
0:44
funding at a rate of 110 rubles per year for every
0:48
vote.
0:49
In practice, this means that since the last election, which took place here in 2011,
0:54
the Yabloko party received 765 million rubles,
0:58
the LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia) got 2.5 billion rubles, A Just Russia received almost 3 billion rubles,
1:04
the Communist Party of the Russian Federation got 4 billion, and United Russia got 11 billion rubles. Can you imagine that?
1:10
In other words, every vote cast for a party was converted for it
1:14
into a very specific amount of money.
1:17
This time, the State Duma (the lower house of Russia’s parliament) is being elected for 5 years, which means every
1:21
vote cast for a party will bring it those same
1:24
550 rubles to.
1:25
So here’s my suggestion: ask yourself not only
1:29
who do I want to vote for, but also whom I want to give my
1:34
550 rubles to.
1:36
That will make the decision much easier.
1:38
The formula is simple:
1:40
1. Remember who we voted for last time — that is,
1:43
who we gave our money to.
1:46
2. Decide whether it seems to us that they (those parties) spent
1:51
our money effectively.
1:52
Did your party actually do anything useful? Did it earn
1:56
the money you handed over to it?
1:59
And only after that, taking into account the first two points, do we
2:02
give some political party these new
2:05
550 rubles of ours for the next 5 years.
2:08
This is very important to remember and understand: you’ll vote on September 18,
2:14
but the party will keep receiving your money for a long time afterward: in a year, in two, in three
2:18
you may change your mind and come to hate that party, but it will still be making money thanks to you.
2:25
Or you can simply stay home, and that way your
2:28
550 rubles won’t go to anyone.
2:30
Though not to you either.
2:31
Just please, don’t ask me right now
2:35
where political parties even spend money in such enormous amounts.
2:42
I can practically feel that question forming on the other side of the screen.
2:47
Honestly, my friends, I don’t know. I can’t imagine why they’re so rich and yet so useless.
2:53
For example, our Anti-Corruption Foundation
2:56
over those same several years raised in voluntary,
2:58
voluntary donations 134 million rubles in total. That’s all.
3:03
As you can see, the figures are simply not comparable, but at the same time,
3:06
forgive me, please, for being immodest,
3:08
we do roughly a hundred times more than any party.
3:11
Anyway, these are the parties we have, for better or worse.
3:15
It’s your 550 rubles
3:16
and your decision what to do with them.
3:19
I hope this video was useful and that it helps you
3:21
this coming weekend.
3:23
Subscribe to our channel: here, people not only tell the truth
3:25
but also give useful advice.