The presidential election race in Russia is in full swing. Of course, by the start of agitation it is interesting to know the candidates' intermediate results, or, if we stick with sports analogies, the points scored by the final phase of the competition.
Let's see the screen. According to a recent poll by VTsIOM, the ratings are as follows.
Vladimir Putin: 71.5%. He's leading by a landslide.
The rest of the figures are ten or more times lower. They are lagging behind considerably.
Grudinin: 7.3%.
Zhirinovsky: 5.5%.
The remaining figures can hardly be precise, but they are within VTsIOM's margin of error of 1.8%.
Sobchak: 1%.
Yavlinsky: 0.8%.
Baburin: 0.5%.
Titov: 0.2%.
Suraykin is the last with 0.1%.
Interestingly, the percentage of those wishing to vote exceeds 80%. It means voters are very active. It's good for it means people understand how important the upcoming election is, and they want their votes to be taken into account.
High transparency in the organization of the election adds to the voters' assurance that each vote will matter. There will be no absentee ballots, but each voter can apply in advance at www.gosuslugi.Ru, at the local election commission or multifunctional center (MFC). It's easy. More than 600,000 people have already expressed their desire to vote at their actual place of residence. Everything looks civilized and calm.
Still, the election campaign flamed up by the candidates revealed real drama for millions of people. It would have been heartless to overlook it. The thing is that the political left has suffered a deep and dramatic split. And it is real. The split can be measured. It is illustrated by only one figure from the VTsIOM poll. Among the traditional Communist electorate, which is a very stable one, only less than half (47%) are willing to vote for Grudinin.
Valery Fedorov, VTsIOM head: "One in ten Russian voters intend to vote for the Communists, but only 47% of them are willing to vote for Grudinin".
That means the Communists do not massively accept Grudinin as their representative, do not believe him and do not support him. And how else can you explain the fact that only a minority in the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is ready to vote for its official candidate? For the party, this is a disaster, a split, a dispersion, meaning no political prospects. I, for one, am upset about it, for the left have always enjoyed widespread public support in Russia. Before this election campaign, the Communists had a historic chance to find a new lease of life, become a full-fledged component of Russia's political system, and in the future, even become a powerful and important force capable of winning a majority in both parliamentary and presidential elections, which would show the maturity of the Russian system.
Now, since Russian democracy is young, the political system, as we already mentioned, is still under construction. There is no responsible opposition that uses democratic methods to fight for power. And what happened in the Russian Communist Party now puts the Russian political clock back and buries the Communist Party itself.
The situation is as follows. The Communists inexplicably nominated Grudinin, who doesn't belong to the Communist Party and has quite a controversial reputation. His favorite business is acquiring cheap land from the government and selling it at a higher price. As Grudinin admits, his speeches are not very well-oiled, but he says things everyone likes. He speaks in favor of good food, Russian agriculture and industry. Who would be against it? There's nothing to fault. He advocates higher salaries and pensions. No one would mind, but where can we get the money to increase them? The country must earn it. Grudinin doesn't back his siren's call with figures.
That's what is called populism all over the world. And what was his latest promise? He promises that if he gets less than 15%, he will take off his mustache, as if the election were all about his mustache.
Personally, I feel sorry for the CPRF and Gennady Zyuganov. Anyway, he has been a decent leader for his party, preserving it in spite of all hardships. He's never been rude to anyone, but he has been an assertive opponent to the authorities, with love to the USSR and to Russia. Zyuganov has embodied a high level of political culture and a strong combativity, which earned him the respect of both his party members and opponents. I can imagine Zyuganov's inner drama now, when, being the campaign chief, he mortgaged his authority, his reputation, and the future of his beloved party for Grudinin, who can't be close to him either politically or personally. Backing Grudinin, Zyuganov, at least, made a mistake. He did not expect that the election campaign would reveal some facts about Grudinin which had been unknown. He didn't expect Grudinin, like a baby cuckoo planted in a nest, would throw out more than half of its native inhabitants.
And what should people think now? Why has Zyuganov surrendered the entire Communist Party to Grudinin, a businessman who belongs to an opposing class? And does Grudinin matter for Zyuganov more than the Party? Why? How can it be explained? It is bitter for Zyuganov to hear this kind of questions. But he gives no sign. He's still an ace.
Is it still possible for Zyuganov to save his reputation and the CPRF? Quit the campaign, resign from the post of Grudinin's campaign chief declare that he committed an error and thus separate Grudinin's name from the CPRF. People will understand and even forgive him. Only sincerity heals human blunders. In this case, his beloved Communist Party will survive. Otherwise, there will be nothing left of the CPRF. Like in a family, it is no good to cheat. But things can go better if you show your repentance and cry.
So Zyuganov, the left, and all of Russia are interested in saving the CPRF. Otherwise, its electorate will get dispersed, and it'll be the ignominious end of the CPRF. Some will support Suraykin, others will vote for Zhirinovsky or Yavlinsky. And don't forget that the majority is voting for Putin. I understand that Zyuganov feels rushed, but the closer the election, the more difficult this decision. And it will have a smaller effect. In any case, Zyuganov's inner drama is screaming out loud in his soul.
Finally, it is all the more acute as this election is kind of the last tour for Zyuganov. And, of course, he speculates on his role in the Party history. By the next presidential cycle, the Communist Party will have been preparing for Zyuganov's 80th jubilee. And it is the coming weeks that will decide how it will be. The question for the Party members is as follows: is Zyuganov the Party's leader or gravedigger? It's crucial.
