No one should have any doubts.” Why United Russia achieved a record result ahead of a possible new stage of negotiations with Ukraine

“No one should have any doubts.” Why United Russia achieved a record result ahead of a possible new stage of negotiations with Ukraine

The outcome of the State Duma elections, despite the presidential administration’s initial plan for a much more modest result for United Russia, turned out to be impressive: the “party of power” received just under 58% of the vote with turnout of almost 60%.

A Verstka source close to the presidential administration confirmed that the plan to “dry out turnout” (that is, to make the election campaign attract as little attention as possible) existed until the very end, “literally until the first weeks of September.” But it unexpectedly changed.

“Seminars, training sessions, and briefings for the so-called people responsible for mobilizing voters took place a week before the elections. And there it was already stated clearly: everyone must show up. In all state corporations, government institutions, and budget-funded organizations, employees were divided into groups, and each group had a person in charge,” he explained.

According to Verstka’s source close to the presidential administration, the course really did change sharply. According to him, the main reason is not domestic politics: the message is aimed at an external audience.

“In the West, there is clearly a belief that people in Russia are tired of the war and they are trying to play on that,” the source says. “Hence all this attention to this ‘Yabloko outrage,’ although it is obvious to anyone in Russia that Yabloko is not the kind of party that will pose a serious problem; it is not Navalny. In October, a new negotiating track awaits all of us, and then a difficult winter. No one should have any doubts.”

Read Verstka’s article about how the Duma elections went and what their dismaying result means (with a VPN):

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