SORSK/ABAKAN The hall of the Culture Hall is almost full of people. The residents of the small mining town of Sorski have been invited to a public meeting. A distinguished guest arrives: the head of the Republic of Khakassia Valentin Konovalov.
Konovalov intends to hear the concerns of the residents of Sorsk, which is part of his republic.
And there’s enough to worry about: During the summer months, the city’s supply of hot water has been cut off for years, and the city’s only Banja, or public sauna, has been closed since the beginning of the corona pandemic. How are people supposed to wash themselves? The new building built with public funds has become moldy. The entrance to the hospital is difficult for the elderly to reach. There are big potholes on the main street.
Konovalov leads the speech and tries to calm the citizens.
It is important for Konovalov to show himself among the people, because this weekend he will defend his position in the election of the head of the republic.
The young communist politician came to power in the 2018 elections with protest votes, but in Sorski, he does not appear as a populist politician but as a ruler: all problems can be solved in time, but the right procedures must be followed.
In the shelter of Kulttuuritalo Metallurg, citizens talk about the concrete problems of everyday life, but attention is also paid to Hakassia from the top level of politics.
Elections test the control of the power apparatus
The elections for the head of Khakassia and the regional parliament are part of dozens of regional and local elections that war-torn Russia is organizing this weekend.
It is important for those in power to maintain the impression that things in the country are going as usual despite the protracted war, and elections are part of the picture.
Khakassia is a small republic of more than half a million inhabitants in southern Siberia. Its regional elections would hardly attract special attention, if the Kremlin apparatus were not now furiously preparing for next year’s presidential elections.
They are supposed to show the people’s inviolable trust in the president to Vladimir Putin and to his military operation.
The presidential administration seems to regard the weekend’s regional and local elections as a dress rehearsal for that big show.
The machinery of power must work smoothly, nothing can be left to chance and elections must not result in unpleasant surprises or disputes.
Independent media and the opposition movement have been suppressed. Electoral laws make it possible to block unwanted candidates.
Hakassia’s case shows that everything still doesn’t always go according to plan. The attempt to return the post of the head of the republic back to the ruling party United Russia seems to be failing.
The Kremlin is trying to clean up the traces of the 2018 protest election
In Abakan, the capital of Khakassia, there is no particular dissatisfaction with the current head of the republic.
Recently moved to the city Konstantin Nigutsa has followed the election debates closely. He plans to vote for Konovalov.
– I have visited Hakassia every summer, and against that background I have seen that Hakassia has really changed, he says. As a breakdance teacher, he has seen that the sport is developing in the republic and that the youth have been given the opportunity to develop themselves.
– Valentin Konovalov has not done badly for his first season. I would like to expect better from him. Time will tell, Irina Savostyanova says.
– The majority of the residents of the city of Abakan hope that the current leader Konovalov will win. He has not made any big mistakes, the standard of living has not fallen, national projects are being implemented. There is nothing to criticize against Konovalov, Gennady Zjablinski thinking.
Living in the neighboring region of Krasnoyarsk Mikhail Uzunov says he will vote for United Russia, but believes that Konovalov’s victory would not change things.
– When Konovalov does not have a strong competitor, he is most likely to win. It does not change much in our political field, because our entire people and representatives of all parties support the policies of our president and government.
The Russian Communist Party is a so-called internal opposition party loyal to the Kremlin. It is difficult to consider it a real challenger to those in power, even though more opposition-minded people than before have sought to join the party.
35-year-old Valentin Konovalov is a young man for a regional manager. The anger caused by the increase in the retirement age tinged the 2018 elections, in which Konovalov came to power.
Protest voting caused a few unpleasant surprises for those in power at the time, when in some regions the ruling party United Russia suffered surprising setbacks.
The Kremlin was also annoyed by the opposition leader To Alexei Navalny ran a “smart voting” program: it concentrated votes on candidates who had the best chance of beating the ruling party’s candidate. Often the beneficiaries were the candidates of the communist party.
The Kremlin has already managed to oust the other protest governors at the time, and now it was supposed to be Konovalov’s turn.
A war veteran cannot lose an election
United Russia nominated a member of parliament as a counter-candidate Sergei Sokolinwho had gone to seek merit on the front of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
A veteran of “military special operations” could not lose the election.
In his campaign, Konovalov has emphasized his locality. Sokol was painted as a political chicken sent to Hakassia. In Russia, they are called “Varjages”, referring to Viking rulers who came from outside.
Elevating Sokol as the top candidate seems to have caused turmoil in United Russia’s own ranks in Khakassia as well: for example, the speaker of the regional parliament left the ruling party in protest and joined the ranks of the communists.
Sokol’s support did not take off, and the outcome of the election began to look uncertain.
Last week, Sokol announced that he was withdrawing his candidacy due to serious illness. It is said that Sokol had to be hospitalized due to inflammation of the peritoneum.
Skeptics immediately suspected that Sokol was in danger of losing the election, and he was therefore withdrawn from the race.
According to information circulating in the Russian media, the decision came from the Kremlin and surprised the leadership of United Russia.
Konovalov’s case illustrates the challenges of Russia’s “guided democracy”.
Those in power want to show that the support of Putin and his people is completely overwhelming. It seems to require endless micromanaging from the central government, meddling in even the smallest local issues.
Citizens’ everyday problems cannot be solved by political intrigues. The pensioners in Sorski, which has about 10,000 inhabitants, are suspicious of the whole election.
– Of course we hope for better, but I don’t know how it will turn out. I don’t know who to vote for. One speaks good and the other speaks well, but what will become of it I do not know, Irina Lutsenko says in the central square, which is decorated with the founder of the Cheka, the Soviet secret police Feliks Dzerzhinsky statue.
– We don’t expect anything. Everyone promises but no one does anything, Tamara Miljohina says.
He didn’t want to go see Konovalov.
– Listen to the arguments. They blackmail each other, but where is the interpreter? Take Konovalov for example. He has been in power for five years and he only visited Sorski once, promised the moon from the sky and that was all.
Read news about Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine here