The elections in Russia took place with low turnout. Russian politics in cartoons

The Unified Voting Day has ended in Russia. Based on the results of the elections of heads of regions, as well as regional and municipal elections On September 10, 2017, expert assessments were divided into two categories. Some talk about “absolute normality” and “artificial excitement” around low voter turnout; for others, it becomes the basis for statements about the actual referendum nature past voting and the true indifference of the population to the outcome of the elections. The minimization of turnout, which was partly observed in some regions of the country, is also called one of the possible mechanisms for "running in" future presidential elections in the country. Details - in the material Nakanune.RU.

General Director of the Agency for Political and Economic Communications Dmitry Orlov noted that voter turnout rates in the current elections - "quite normal for local or regional elections."

“In some places, the turnout, according to preliminary data, even exceeded the corresponding figures for similar campaigns in previous years. For example, in the regional elections in the Saratov region, 46.03% of voters had voted by 18:00, while in 2012, in the elections of regional Duma deputies, the corresponding figure was same time was only 36.54%. And, of course, it is extremely strange to compare the turnout in regional and, especially, local elections with similar indicators in federal ones. Different agendas. different attitude voters to these campaigns - these are the basics," - Orlov says.

United Russia calls turnout indicators in the constituent entities of the Federation “absolutely normal” for any democratic country and comparable to similar indicators in regional elections in France or Great Britain. In particular, this was previously stated by Vice Speaker of the State Duma Peter Tolstoy.

Based on the results of the elections, many experts are in favor of "naturalness", including in relation to turnout, stating that “unnatural” habits of driving people to elections with the help of administrative resources are worse than low turnout and only “rape” political system.

In particular, this opinion was voiced by a political scientist at the Election Night online marathon Pavel Danilin. “Who needs municipal elections in Moscow? These are people whom no one has ever seen, no one wants to go vote for them, so we have 10-12%, which is already good in such a situation. The more natural the turnout, even minimal, the more positive", - he commented.

Another political scientist, president of the St. Petersburg Politics Foundation Mikhail Vinogradov also noted that the turnout in general was “quite expected and more or less natural.” "The regions different tradition- Let's see what happens in Mordovia or Belgorod. But turnout is at odds with electoral tradition." - he said.

Deputy of the Council of Deputies of the Moscow Region Tagansky in Moscow Ilya Sviridov, in turn, is optimistic about the results of the elections in Moscow. In his opinion, expectedly low turnout“did not happen” in the elections of municipal deputies in the capital, around which there is so much controversy.

"There was a surge in turnout. This is somewhat of a new event, because Moscow usually sets new standards for conducting political struggle. Despite the fact that everyone is accustomed to scolding this second Sunday of September and voting day, the fact that the campaign itself falls on the main month, when everyone is on vacation. Despite this, in many districts of Moscow it turned out to be a really interesting, competitive election campaign. “United Russia, despite all their political technologies, was not able to take as many mandates as they expected,” - he commented.

The municipal deputy emphasized that in some areas of Moscow the turnout was above 20%, that is, higher than in the elections to the Moscow City Duma. “What happened in Moscow will happen in Russia. This means that the opposition parties have learned to bring voters to the “terrible” September elections. New elections are ahead, in which big role Internet plays" - Sviridov believes.

It is worth noting that not only global network stand out as an important and positive tool in the struggle to change the political structure in the country. The Minchenko Consulting agency also drew attention to the positive technologies of the past election campaign in the regions. Thus, the authors of reports on “Politburo 2.0” called the experiment conducted in Sverdlovsk region, with raffles for apartments and cars at polling stations. In addition, Minchenko Consulting notes positive experience returns "against all" columns in municipal elections in Norilsk. By the way, the holding’s experts estimate the turnout to be “within reason” and “without extremes.”

At the same time, political scientists consider the main lesson of the municipal campaign in Moscow "drying turnout". If there is a campaign on the part of an opponent focused on an ideologically charged and motivated group voters, such technology can lead to unpredictable results. " Let me note that exactly the same lesson could have been learned from the 2013 mayoral campaign. But they didn’t extract him,” reports the telegram channel "Politburo 2.0".

The past elections in Moscow, in the assessment of many experts, appeared as "arid and abnormally quiet", and direct participants in the election campaign from the opposition announced a “conscious decrease in turnout” on the part of the mayor’s office and the Moscow City Election Commission. Such mechanisms for minimizing turnout, which were partly tested in Moscow, could be used in the election campaign next spring, he suggested in a commentary Nakanune.RU Director of the Center for Political Science Research of the Financial University Pavel Salin.

He highlighted several points that were tested in the current regional elections and "can be used in the spring next year, if the dynamics of mass protest activity do not change."

"First of all, it's running in mechanism for legitimizing election results. Until July, the mechanism on which the Presidential Administration relied was one: the higher the turnout, the higher the level of legitimacy of the elections,” - he said. However, over the past two months, the “attitude” has changed, according to new formula, “low, low turnout is not an indicator of the legitimacy of the elections.” "The most important indicator is the absence of serious intra-elite conflicts. That is, the most important selection that a candidate must go through is not the electoral one, but the selection among the elite. In this case, the elections should be referendum nature and confirm the choice of the elite," commented Saleen.

This is what happened, for example, in the gubernatorial elections, when candidates who could concentrate the support of counter-elites were removed from the elections. This manifested itself, first of all, in the Sverdlovsk region and Buryatia. “This is probably how the presidential campaign will be structured, if elections will go Vladimir Putin... The authorities came to a strategic decision that, despite the growing demand for change in society, the risks of implementing such requests exceed the risks of maintaining the status quo. After the presidential elections, in particular, this will be projected onto the electoral campaign. For such a mechanism to be successful, it is necessary to minimize turnout in elections major cities with that so that rural areas and national republics made a certain contribution to the result of the government candidate," - the political scientist expressed his opinion.

That is, the “trend”, which was partly reflected in the elections on September 10, is minimizing turnout with the aim of subsequently legitimizing the election results. "But there is one here a big problem, it seems to me that the Kremlin understands her. It is impossible to automatically apply the mechanisms for legitimizing elections at the regional and municipal levels to the mechanism for presidential elections. Our population’s attitude towards governors, especially towards municipal deputies, is one, but the attitude towards the president is different. It may very well be that these mechanisms will not work as effectively as they do today, even if nothing changes,” - Saleen added.

The Moscow City Hall, of course, “ruined the image of the elections,” since “there is a well-established opinion that they deliberately disrupted the elections,” says Member of the Public Chamber Sergei Markov. At the same time, he noted that the municipal elections in Moscow were almost the only campaign of interest abroad. Otherwise, in the West, in his opinion, there is no interest in these elections, since “they are absolutely sure that all the governors will win with a huge gap. "So all this is happening, everything has the character of a referendum", - he thinks.

The opposition traditionally points out the shortcomings of the past election campaign. The parliamentary systemic opposition declares the need electoral system changes, and those who are not connected, according to some political scientists, by a “parliamentary cartel”, even talk about the obvious failure of the vote.

So, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Economics Nikita Isaev called the elections “disgusting and disastrous.” “The presidential campaign is starting. If these elections were tested as an understanding of what the reaction to this would be in the world or in Russia, it is obvious that this is a failure... There is an absolute loss of public confidence in the electoral system. It doesn’t matter what level - municipal, regional or gubernatorial... Good , that they held such disgusting elections so that the next ones would not be so", - he stated.

The Vice Speaker of the State Duma made more “milder” criticism Olga Epifanova. She noted a significant “culturalization” of campaigning, but pointed out a number of problems in municipal elections. In particular, the deputy from A Just Russia did not agree with the thesis about the smaller role of “administrative resources” in these elections.

“Any administrative pressure that is applied to people makes the elections even more dark. People are already tired, people are indifferent, they have a clear, stereotypical opinion that nothing depends on them, and this opinion, multiplied by the testimony of friends, that they are being persecuted and forced to vote, makes them forget about voting, as if it were a shock,” Epifanova commented.

She called “postponing voting day to September” a big mistake. “People want to get the last rays of the sun, cook something, communicate with nature,” - the deputy emphasized. In her opinion, holding elections in March would be optimal. She also added that people are “insanely annoyed” by the lack of “counts against everyone”.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is also confident that the country will face “profanation” in the presidential elections if adjustments to the electoral legislation are not adopted. “We are working for the future, but the authorities must clearly understand that with such a turnout, with such approaches to electoral legislation, with the reluctance to change the political rules that have been established, there will be no serious success either in the presidential elections or in others. It will simply be profanation ", - stated Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Yuri Afonin.

Political scientists, by the way, believe that the current elections will be another a serious challenge for the Communist Party.“If the information about the “third place” of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is confirmed, this will be a serious challenge for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. This will be the second point. The first is the parliamentary elections, the results of which for them can be regarded as unsuccessful. The Communists made a strategic mistake several years ago when they did not update the party leadership, because the party leadership needs it, and the authorities find such leadership of pensioners without ambition convenient,” - commented Nakanune.RU Pavel Salin.

In his opinion, if the Communist Party of the Russian Federation takes “third place” based on the results of the elections, this “increases the likelihood that it will not be Zyuganov, but his potential successor, who will be the communist candidate for the presidential election.” “There is no other way, otherwise the party will give up on itself,” - added the expert.

The LDPR supports the idea of ​​postponing the elections to the spring. As noted State Duma deputy Mikhail Degtyarev, low turnout in most regions during the elections on September 10, 2017, showed “the attitude of people towards these elections.”

“If we talk about the gubernatorial elections, then, judging by the results, they were successful and were of a referendum type. Obviously, the municipal filter that exists, the structure that was organized by the Presidential Administration and the internal political bloc, made it possible to create a campaign that led to results , where both 70 and 80% vote for governors,” - said the parliamentarian.

In his opinion, “we can safely put question of returning the appointment of governors after such a campaign." “The only bearer of legitimate power is the president, his word, his support for his nominees gives such results in any region of the country,” - said Degtyarev.

"Close to the Kremlin" political scientist Andrey Kolyadin considers the campaign a “good rehearsal” for the upcoming presidential elections. "If we talk about presidential elections, then there always comes more people. This is a very correct training that will allow the next elections to be held fairly,” the political scientist summarized during Election Night.

Let us remind you that elections were held in Russia on September 10 different levels in 82 of 85 regions of Russia. The exceptions were St. Petersburg, Ingushetia and the Magadan region. In total, during 5.8 thousand election campaigns at the regional and municipal levels, about 36.7 thousand mandates will be replaced.

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I don’t know about you, but the number of leaflets in my mailbox has already begun to stress me out, which has already exceeded even the advertising that everyone hates. Kilograms of paper that no one reads. And the mailbox keeps filling up..."Guardians of the happiness" of the people are eager to once again occupy soft chairs in the local Dumas. And, worst of all, they will take it, even though the majority of voters simply will not go to the polls. For what? Well, we choose someone, so what? After the elections, with a probability of almost 100% at best, we will sometimes see this deputy on TV screens. Moor, i.e. the people have done their job and... let them wait for the next elections...

To be honest, is anyone following the debates today or reading party programs? What is the difference? How can this or that deputy really influence the improvement of the life of a particular person? How many times have the worthy been elected? And how much has our life improved? I go out onto the balcony and see the advertising slogan of one of the parties - “The city needs justice!” A little further on is another slogan. "My city is my life!" I don't even look any further.

Somehow it happened that we lost faith that democracy, in the form in which it exists today, exists at all. We, ordinary people who just want to live, work quietly and receive a decent salary, raise children, enjoy summer, winter, their small victories, have lost faith that anyone is interested in this. Someone, having climbed to a higher level of power, will remember the “electorate”. We are no longer a people, not people, not human beings. We are the electorate! “Voices” necessary to take a “warm place”.

Do you want an example of anti-election propaganda? I’ve had it before my eyes and under my feet for three weeks now. The hot water supply pipe underground leaked. From old age, from high blood pressure or something else. Doesn't matter. It is important that residents of the entire block avoid the “hot spring” for three weeks. They feel like “Americans”. Simply because the nearest grocery store bears the prestigious name "Europe". It is this “Europe” that is now separated from us by a “hot ocean”. And which of the residents of three apartment buildings will go to the polls on Sunday after “crossing” the ocean for many days? I am sure that readers can give dozens, maybe hundreds, of similar examples from their observations.

A simple person who does not break any rules or laws suddenly faces a disdainful attitude towards himself. TV with boring talking heads constantly tells us about the latest laws, regulations, decrees that will improve our lives. But there is no one to liquidate the “hot spring”.

An ordinary person goes outside and sees a beautiful courtyard of a high-rise building, trimmed lawns, plastic playgrounds, safe and colorful. He sees smooth asphalt in the yard and parking lots, equipped and not disturbing people... This is paradise... But for some reason high fence. This is a yard for those for whom “my city is my home”...And a person goes to his city. To a shabby house that last time It was renovated under Brezhnev, into a courtyard where the trash heap is larger than a playground, where there is light only in the evening. And even then, from the windows of nearby houses...

Do you think this is a problem only for adults? The “electorate” and “people’s representatives” have been brought up from the very beginning early childhood. There are two kindergartens near my house. Both were built under Soviet power. But one remained state-owned, and the second became private. For an appropriate fee. One, for the electorate, is equipped in retro style. “Trucks” made of boards, metal “turtles”, sandboxes with the remains of sand and teachers tortured by “overloaded” groups. It’s simple kindergarten number...

The second one has no number. It's called "Clever Girl". Modern all around game forms", a sports ground with artificial turf. Small groups. Bicycles stand side by side... Well, the future "chosen people of the people" come in cars worth many millions of rubles. And the children from kindergarten number dream of playing at least once in this children's paradise. They dream... .

If I now ask a simple question about what the Motherland means to you, I’m sure many will remember birch trees in the field, a river, or grandparents’ hut in the village. Someone will remember their native mountains. Someone to the taiga. Someone the endless seashore and waves...Is this the Motherland? Imagine there is no person on Earth. And what? Will the homeland change? If yes, then only for the better.

This means the Motherland is a state. Homeland is people. The homeland is the graves of our ancestors. The homeland is the people's memory. Homeland is something that is difficult to explain, but easy to feel. One of the many Louis said something stupid, which was repeated many times later. "I am the state"! No, the state is ME! I mean, I'm a simple person. without positions or titles. A person who just wants to live. Not to control someone or something, not to “fight” and “prove”, but simply to live. I am the state!

Many of the readers, especially the "citizens" Soviet Union"we asked a simple question, but complex issue- “Why did you allow the collapse of the USSR?” And today we ask exactly the same questions to citizens of the Baltic countries, citizens of Ukraine... How did you allow your countries to turn into...?

To be honest, I have been looking for the answer to this question for quite a long time. I found a dozen answers. And then I looked again... It's too easy to blame the US or NATO. But then, and in 1917, who was to blame? Bolsheviks? All five or six? And there were slightly more of those who “overthrew” the USSR than there were “takers” of the Russian empire. And we? We really didn’t do anything...We watched on TV “what it’s like in Moscow.” There was no popcorn then, we made do with seeds...

Today no one argues that any state is a system for organizing people's lives. System! Ideally, the state is nothing more than a union of people to improve own life. They agree to sacrifice some part of their freedom, their means, their lives so that this very state takes care of the safety of life, the observance of rules (laws), and borders...

The key word is system! A person becomes part of the system. A person becomes part of the state. And all those who run the state, in fact, are nothing more than hired workers for a person. If you want, specialists of a narrow profile. Someone is protecting the borders. Someone, excuse me, is cleaning the sewer...

Now, let’s return to the example that I described at the beginning of the article. To the "hot spring". What happened? The man turned to his hired workers and was sent somewhere far away. Don’t disturb busy people!.. The man was once again convinced that he was no one for the system. He is not the owner of the hired workers. He is just a cog in a huge mechanism. A screw that is needed, but which can easily be replaced with another. The person has lost interest in the system. Interest in the state as such.

Remember most of the coups that took place in Russia. Successful, unsuccessful, it doesn’t matter. The important thing is that all these coups did not concern Russian people. Decembrists? Who knew about them? People from some Ryazan or Irkutsk? Revolution of February 1917? In which cities did this revolution take place? Together with the revolution of October 1917. 1991? Where did the people “rise up” against or for? In what cities? 1993?

Now let's return to the answer to main question which I stated above. The USSR and the Russian Empire were destroyed not by external influence, not by internal enemies or traitors in power. The Empire and the Union died precisely because people simple people They became just “cogs”. And they began to understand this. IN Tsarist Russia society was divided into the nobility and the people. In the USSR there was a nomenklatura and a people. Today, the “elected people” and the people...In 1991, the people did not give a damn about those in power. And on the power itself. The people are on their own, the government is on its own.

The scary thing is that today “life on TV” differs from just life exactly as it differs sea ​​yacht from a lake raft assembled by boys from scrap materials. We see the sleek faces of the same politicians, artists, " socialites" and "lions"... We see discussions about the majors, We see beautiful cars and private jets. And at home?.. Quite recently I saw the reaction of a Muscovite, not a boss, not a millionaire, but a simple hard worker, who saw our tram. Just a tram! “Do you still have such retro stuff in the city?” It turns out that it is a normal tram on... rubber wheels. So that it doesn't rattle. Know Russia.

I remember my own childhood. That time when the leader of our country was still a reserve colonel, a war hero. When he calmly pronounced the word “systematically” instead of the famous “tits-massiki”. I remember our yard on election day. Flags, music, dressed up parents... The main question then was: “Have you voted yet?” And we boys knew that our parents would bring something tasty from the elections. Yes, there was one candidate. Yes, they chose those who had already been “pumped up” a hundred times in party committees, trade union committees and other committees. But those who helped solve the problems were elected common man!..

And the state was strong precisely because of this. We, especially young people, often laugh at the fact that a deceived wife could go to the party committee and complain about her husband who had been on a spree. And often, although not always, “the Soviet family was preserved.” And how many apartments did the “non-alternative” deputies knock out for workers? How many vouchers to holiday homes and sanatoriums? How many children, with their help, went on vacation to pioneer camps? After all, that was all! State for the people!

And then came the era when the deputy became " statesman". When "state affairs" became more important than human affairs. When a person felt like a nobody. That same cog that could easily be replaced. And the rejection of the state began. Rejection in the minds. I am sure that any of the readers have repeatedly heard the common phrase - "Why should I it is necessary? What has the government done for me? What did the deputy do for me?"

This is not a Russian problem. This is a problem for all post-Soviet republics. We were united people not only by passport, but also by way of thinking. And when “why do I need this” became dominant, when people stopped believing in the state, something happened that many regret today. The state has disappeared. It disappeared in the form in which it existed for quite a long time. A new thing was born. And no one knew what would emerge from this “new” thing. A handsome, smart and fair “man” or a little “freak”.

Remember the cliché that is often used today. Beware of the indifferent! Correct words. You just have to think about where these most indifferent people come from? I always hate it when someone proudly says that they did not vote in the elections. I didn’t vote, which means I don’t seem to be responsible for those we chose. You chose, so you are to blame. But I’m not me and the horse is not mine.

And today, according to my observations, there are more indifferent people than active people who care about the country and the state. People don't believe that things will change for the better. I don’t know about you, but I, for example, don’t really care about the price of gas or oil on the world market. And not because I don’t care about the state. Or I don’t understand that the construction of a hospital or bridge depends on the price of this very oil. I don’t give a damn simply because I know that with any drop or rise in price, I will still buy more expensive gasoline tomorrow. Specific me in specific life situation. The rise and fall of prices will make someone richer, and I will pay for the construction of the hospital. Pay the first time you fill up your car.

The upcoming elections will be held once again. Liberals will again scream about numerous violations, about dirt and fraud at polling stations. The winners, on the contrary, congratulate each other and talk about unprecedented transparency and honesty. There will be banquets for the winners. Even local television will savor the results of the most democratic elections in the history of the region. Everything will happen. But most people won’t be interested!

I do not hope that elected deputies of local parliaments will be able to change anything in our lives. Even if they sincerely wish it. It just turns out that there are many “pitfalls” that an ordinary person “isn’t supposed to know about.” It turns out that there is no money in the budget for exactly what the deputy wants to propose. It turns out that the party from which he was elected decided this way, and not the way he promised the people.

Re-educate adults? I don’t dream of such stupidity either. They say the grave will fix the hunchback. I'm not sure, but I'll take your word for it. I wrote these thoughts out loud for someone else. More precisely for those who think. Today we are building a country. Another one. Not Russian Empire or USSR. We are building some new country. And we step on the same rake. We again get the classic division of the population into people and elite. We are again creating indifferent people. An army of people who absolutely do not need such a state. Those who will not take to the streets if something happens in the capital again.

I am often told that an economically strong state is resistant to any “stress”. A person who has property will fight for it. Oh my. It seems to me that it will not be the owner who will fight, but the mercenary fighter he has hired. Fight for money! And only until the moment he feels that he is losing. Then the mercenary will run away. He gets a lot of money, but in the next world money is not needed. Mercenaries will fight from both sides. and the people will, as history has repeatedly confirmed, stand aside. There's nothing to fight about!

Good, albeit quite risky foreign policy of our state has restored to the majority faith in our strength. A strong army and navy today have truly become a guarantor of stability and protection from external enemies. We felt like people! But, alas, there are no people who the state needs. And it's my fault domestic politics. Or maybe the whole system.

We will not have flags and festively dressed voters on election day. There will be regular music from the speakers on the school porch. There will be old women who remember the Soviet elections and go to vote for "someone" because he " good man, he was in our yard and talked to us." There will be complaints about the lack of voter turnout. But there will be no holiday. The state is raising another portion of the indifferent... Maybe it’s worth thinking about some reforms for the sake of people? Think not about the electorate, but about the people ?You will have voices, but there will be no people who will want to confront your collaborators if something happens.

I repeat, the state is ME! Not the one who “rules” or makes laws today. I'm a simple person. The one who works hard at work, the one who serves in the army, the one who performs military and labor feats. I am the foundation of the state. And as long as I, a common man, am satisfied with this state, it will exist. With all the difficulties, with a bunch of external and internal enemies, with all the problems. It will! But when I become an indifferent “cog”...

I, like probably the majority of VO readers, am impressed by Russia’s foreign policy today. I gained a sense of pride, which the Gorbachevs, Yeltsins and other democrats had long eradicated. And I will go vote for a new president in 2018. Only because I see the point in it. But I don’t want to go to local government elections. I'm probably becoming indifferent too...

The elections on September 10 put an end to both the Kremlin’s last illusions that the majority of the population is for United Russia, and the hypotheses that social tension has reached its limit and revolutionary sentiments are in the air in society.

WINNERS - KREMLIN APPOINTMENTS

The outcome of the gubernatorial elections was predetermined even before a single voting day in the Kremlin, which replaced a number of ineffective governors in advance and appointed acting ones (Table 1). It was precisely these interims who became the only recognizable political figures in the region. The people traditionally voted for those whose names were well known. And as always, I voted not for merit, but in advance. This is exactly how Russians will have to vote in the presidential elections: not for merit - the May decrees as election promises have failed, the economy is in recession, the country is isolated, they will vote for new promises in the hope that this time they will definitely be fulfilled.

As can be seen from Table 1, the absolute majority was given to the acting governor.

The political advantages of interim officials before the elections are obvious: as a rule, they have little time to establish themselves as corrupt officials or appointees indifferent to the region. Unlike opposition candidates, their names are already well-known, although literally a year before the elections they were completely unknown to their voters, since almost all of them have nothing to do with the region of which they were appointed governors. But the current governors had a more difficult time. Like the Russian president, they had to solve some of the problems of their voters in a revealing manner. For example, in Tomsk, and let me remind you that the current governor Zhilkin came from the Tomsk region, a meeting took place Grand opening water supply networks on Shpalnaya and Stroevaya streets. People finally got speakers installed on their streets in the 21st century. Now they don’t have to wait for delivery, they can get water on the street! And the supply to the house is already independent.

What can I say, a large-scale event for a country that is building a digital economy, plans to be a leader in the field of artificial intelligence, and has long imagined itself as a technologically advanced country thanks to Rusnano and Skolkovo.

MOSCOW PHENOMENON

In Moscow, municipal deputies were elected, whose votes are necessary for the future candidate for mayor of the capital to pass the municipal filter. The peculiarity of the elections in Moscow is that they tried to make them invisible, not to involve special attention. And the city day turned out to be more opportune than ever. All the talk in the run-up to the elections was not about voting day, but about City Day, about planned events. As a result, the turnout in the elections was only 14.8%. As is known, fraud in elections with low turnout is more simple task than in high turnout elections. That is, they decided to put the capital to sleep, taking into account the growing sympathy for Navalny and other liberal oppositionists. However, even despite the low turnout, the opposition was able to achieve noticeable results: the Yabloko party took second place, gaining 11.72% of the votes. The party in power gained 76%. These results allowed the chairman of the Yabloko party to conclude that “Russians want change. And the moment will come when this process will become irreversible and this will be the beginning of a serious renewal in the country.”

This year’s elections in the capital are reminiscent of the results of the 2016 State Duma elections, when United Russia had a constitutional majority - over 75% of the votes. The party in power received 1,154 deputy mandates, representatives of Yabloko - 176 mandates, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation - 43 mandates (previously there were 212), A Just Russia - 10, LDPR - 4. This situation suggests that Moscow has realized that the Duma opposition is a prolongation of the course of United Russia , therefore, it relied on the force that is still demonstrating its opposition to the regime.

Based on the voting results, we have to admit that in 2018, when the mayoral candidate will have to pass the municipal filter by collecting 6% of signatures local deputies and secure the support of at least three-quarters municipalities, that is, in no less than 110 municipalities, only Sobyanin will be able to pass. The remaining parties, even united, will not be able to enlist the support of 110 municipalities. Apple is represented in 51 entities, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation - in 22, and self-nominated candidates - in 12. That is, despite the small victory of the opposition, we have to admit that the current government clearly won, and the results of the 2018 elections in Moscow are again a foregone conclusion.

DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW

The authorities and society have different assessments of the processes taking place in the country. The authorities see elections as a competitive struggle. As Pamfilova said a month before the elections: “The President very clearly set the task: elections must be as transparent and legitimate as possible, first of all, elections must be recognized by our citizens, they must believe in them.” The turnout of 14.8% in the elections in Moscow and in some other regions is precisely an indicator that Russians have stopped believing in the elections. They stopped hoping that their voice could change anything. The Kremlin, represented by Peskov, believes that the elections, on the contrary, are competitive: “there is pluralism, and there is political competition.” However, the victory of United Russia with 76% of the vote against 11% from the opposition speaks of a monopoly, not competition.

As for low turnout, a painful topic for the Central Election Commission on the eve of the presidential elections, where turnout should be increased to 70%, Pamfilova refused to comment, and member of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation A. Klyukin, in turn, noted that “the turnout is good” in Moscow. Passivity and indifference of society, indifference to the problems of one's own city - is this a good turnout?

The authorities decided to fight the falsifications right away, but not by eliminating them, but by discrediting the very fact of possible falsification, thereby presenting it as a kind of curiosity out of stupidity, and not a political order influencing the course of the elections. The media circulated a case from Pamfilova’s words, when a voter who came said that someone had already voted for him early, but during the proceedings it turned out that the applicant himself cast his vote. The person who voted tried to escape, citing his forgetfulness. With this story, Pamfilova discredited in advance all subsequent stuffing of facts into the media, when a voter’s vote was cast without the participation of the voter himself. She also tried to divert the attention of the media from the facts of violations that observers noted to isolated cases of inappropriate behavior of the observers themselves: the removal of a “drunk as hell” observer from a polling station in the Kaliningrad region, the removal of a Yabloko candidate who had bitten members of the PEC. Pamfilova was not the only one who tried to discredit cases of falsification.

The head of the Moscow City Election Commission announced that the recording posted on the Internet, where the deputy head of the Novo-Peredelkino council discusses with members of district election commissions how to rig elections, is a planned provocation and montage. However, the head of the Novo-Peredelkino council was fired. But how many other such compassionate leaders were there in Russia, whose plans no one ever found out about?

In general, enough violations were identified, the leaders were Moscow, Saratov region And Krasnodar region. Typical violations include refusals to allow observers, fake observers, a ban on filming, attempts to register “incomprehensible people without passports,” a large number of applications for ballot boxes, and illegal campaigning. However, according to the CEC, there were no critical violations during the elections. In a word, the Central Election Commission worked like Rosstat - the expected indicators were achieved.

But he distinguished himself most Altai region, where the level of early voting in the Barnaul Duma is calculated in percentages, while in the country it is in fractions of percentages. With a turnout of 17%, the level of early voting in the Barnaul Duma was one third. What will the local authorities come up with, whose task is to ensure the victory of the party in power, unpopular among the people, at any cost.

Society is tired of the fact that the outcome of the elections is predetermined and there is virtually no one to vote for, so they naturally vote with their feet - refusing to come to the polls. The turnout at the gubernatorial elections in a number of regions was only a third, or even less, of voters. When compared with the elections to the State Duma, although it must be admitted that for the regions the gubernatorial elections more important than elections deputies to the Duma, then out of 16 regions the turnout increased in only two ( Perm region and Buryatia), and fell in the rest (Fig. 1). This is largely due to the fact that the people are aware that the elections of governors have already been decided, and victory will go to the one appointed by the Kremlin.

Rice. 1. Turnout in the gubernatorial elections in 2017 and in the State Duma elections in 2016.

Russians have lost faith that their vote decides something, that the chosen candidate will certainly fulfill his obligations. Low turnout is still a passive protest. But as you know, in Russia they tolerate it for a long time. But when patience runs out, the Russian revolt occurs. And while the government introduces new levies - resort fees, increases excise taxes on gasoline, plans to introduce a recycling fee on shoes and other “air” taxes, the patience of the impoverished Russian may come to an end.

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The turnout at the elections taking place in the country on September 10 is normal for a municipal campaign - international observers reported this earlier, while inspecting and assessing the situation on the Unified Voting Day. They said that a similar situation arises in similar elections in their countries - where citizens pay much more attention to the election of the head of state, and local elections traditionally take place with an average-low turnout.

"In my opinion, we have a standard low turnout for regional elections. We see a fairly tough position of the Central Election Commission and law enforcement agencies where there are violations. There were also cancellations of the results of preliminary, home-based voting. In short, the turnout was within the expected limits, there were not much more violations , approximately the same as before - but with a tougher position on the part of election commissions and law enforcement agencies," the site stated director International Institute political expertise Evgeniy Minchenko.

"There are also innovations. This and the absence absentee ballots and other changes proposed by the election commission. I think it's here important point- in a number of regions it is very high percent early voting, but this is a matter for election commissions and law enforcement agencies,” he added.

"Everything seems normal. There are no incidents, no big surprises, so everything naturally, coming. The main feature is that administrative resources are practically not used at all. Including to stimulate the turnout of so-called and other violations. That is, everything is going on in a natural mode, in the way in which everything should happen, without this kind of tension and rush, without any such things,” the site said political scientist and political strategist Oleg Matveychev.

The expert also confirmed that voting without absentee ballots was an innovation in the elections.

In its turn political scientist Andrey Maksimov stated that the turnout “is still difficult to say, but it is expectedly low.”

“In the regions, accordingly, I think that the turnout standards that have developed in recent years will basically be reproduced with some, perhaps even downward, slow decrease that has already been established, that is, the turnout standard for gubernatorial elections is 30-35 , 40 is the maximum percent. The turnout standard for elections in regional parliaments is 20-25-30%, the turnout standard for municipal elections is 15-20-25%,” he is sure.

“There are no “exorbitant” turnout figures, as was sometimes observed in past years - 100% turnout, etc. Initially, the tone was set by the position of the Central Election Commission, which promised to firmly oppose administrative resources, forced voting and other falsifications. This signal was heard in the regions,” he told the VZGLYAD newspaper. co-chairman of the association for the protection of electoral rights "Civil Control" Alexander Brod.

“There are no “exorbitant” turnout figures, as was sometimes observed in past years - 100% turnout, etc. - there are no such things now, and this indicates the natural course of voting.

“There were reports from some regions on “ hotline» Association "Civil Control" about alleged deliveries, attempts at bribery. Based on these messages, we informed the regional election commissions, law enforcement agencies“said a member of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society.

“Since we are very fond of referring to the United States, I would like to note that in recent years, for example, in New York, the voter turnout was at the level of 33-35%,” the expert concluded.

“The essential issue is informing voters,” the interlocutor emphasizes. It is no coincidence that such a problem was noted in Moscow - there was insufficient information about candidates, about the location of polling stations. Chairman of the Moscow City Election Commission Valentin Gorbunov just the other day admitted that there were not enough measures to inform voters,” Brod believes.

“These elections confirm all the trends in turnout that have developed in recent years,” he said President of the Bakster group consulting agency Dmitry Gusev. “There are regions where turnout is traditionally high, and others where it is low.” “The current turnout corresponds to the regional average. In the Sverdlovsk region it is even slightly higher. No surprises have been found so far,” he believes.

Also Head of the Russian Public Institute of Electoral Law Igor Borisov stated - “no significant deviations were noticed in the turnout.”

"Turnout is a multifactorial phenomenon and depends on many indicators. The indicators correspond general trends. There are regions where turnout is growing compared to the statistical average, and others where it is falling. But this is typical not only for Russian elections, but also inherent in Western democracies,” the expert concluded.