Parade congress: "New people" adopted a program manifesto

The New People Party has approved its program manifesto, advocating the lifting of Internet blockages, the creation of AI courts and the free distribution of Wi-Fi in regions that face communication problems. The document was approved at the sixth Congress of the party, which was held on March 5 in St. Petersburg. The event also noted that the NL has become the most effective opposition faction in the State Duma in terms of the number of bills passed. Experts believe that the "New People" will be able to increase the number of seats in the new convocation of parliament, however, they note that the party still has weak support in the regions.

New initiatives of "New People"

On March 5, St. Petersburg hosted the sixth Congress of the New People Party, the youngest among all the factions that managed to get into the State Duma. It was founded in March 2020, so today its members and supporters are celebrating six years since its inception. Alexey Nechaev, the leader of the political force, spoke at the beginning of the event.

— We have come to represent the new Russia. Who wanted to live without prohibitions and without coercion, to solve problems inside the country. We fought against blockages and bans. Against raising the military age. Against total control of the Internet. Against violence," he said from the stage in front of the audience.

Alexey Nechaev presented the new program manifesto of the party — "12 steps to a country where you want to live." The most resonant demand was a review of all Internet blockages of the last five years. Blogs, channels, and online stores are proposed to be recognized as digital assets equal to physical property, and access to any Internet resource is restricted only by court order.

Other points include the creation of AI courts at Yandex and Sberbank sites to consider typical civil disputes without queues, the construction of state—owned rental housing for citizens under 35 at prices 40-50% below market prices with the right to buy out after ten years, as well as mandatory recognition by banks of the income of the self-employed when applying for mortgages and loans.. Finally, the party proposes to restructure the tax system in favor of the regions: payments from online purchases should go to the budget of the region where the buyer lives, and not to where the company is registered.

The most revealing and interesting initiative was the party's call to distribute free Wi-Fi in regions where the mobile Internet is turned off or slowed down. Last year, it was turned off more than three thousand times, so in addition to housing and communal services and roads, a new problem has appeared in the regions that needs to be addressed, said Vladislav Davankov, Vice Speaker of the State Duma.

At the congress, New People took a serious step towards expanding international contacts. The party has signed a declaration on mutual cooperation with the European Alliance of National Movements. It is a small European party that is a member of the European Parliament and unites eurosceptics, supporters of traditional values and a strict migration policy. The congress was attended by its members from Austria, Italy and the Netherlands. As explained by the head of the executive committee of the National Assembly, Airat Akhmetzyanov, the Russian party seeks to "build a dialogue with sensible European politicians in order to overcome the crisis of trust" between Russia and Europe.

The NL's prospects for the 2026 State Duma elections

New People calls itself the most effective opposition faction in the Russian parliament in five years. In the State Duma of the VIII convocation, its representatives introduced 525 bills, of which 230 were adopted by the parliamentary majority. Among them are initiatives to tighten migration policy and introduce digital control over migrants ("Migrant ID"), laws on digital student ID cards and protection of entrepreneurs from unjustified criminal prosecution.

According to Ruslan Andreev, project manager of the Polylog consulting group, a political strategist, NLP has always had a clear positioning — for changes for the better within the system, not against it. Therefore, it cannot be called a "protest force," he believes.

— In fact, this is an appeal to the progressive educated urban electorate, which is ready to take responsibility for itself. The situational protest voter is more likely to belong to the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Communists criticize the dominant agenda much more often and more often," the expert explained.

This thesis is also confirmed by Vladimir Putin's personal congratulations to the party, which were read out at the very beginning of the congress. The President wished the supporters of the "New People" good luck and creative work.

The main electorate of the party remains the activist strata and people of liberal views, Dmitry Orlov, Director General of the Agency for Political and Economic Communications (APEC), said in a conversation with Izvestia. He added that over the years, New People has transformed from an election project into an institution and has occupied its niche in the political system.

— This niche is about two times smaller than that of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation or the Liberal Democratic Party, but it is quite stable. At the same time, the "New People" have two main problems: weak rooting in electoral districts and in the regions as a whole, and blurring, unfocusing on the basic audience of the party of the electoral message, the expert specified.

The NL's electoral message includes both conservative and social elements, which makes it vague. The main threat to this is the possible loss of part of the base electorate, despite the fact that the party may not attract an additional one, Orlov noted. At the same time, it is worth noting the successful presidential campaign of 2024 for the party, thanks to which candidate Vladislav Davankov was able not only to increase personal recognition, but also to convey the central signals of the renewed ideology of the party to the mass voter, Ruslan Andreev said.

Today, the NL has 15 deputies out of 450 in the State Duma. Ruslan Andreev believes that the "New People" should confidently increase their representation in the State Duma of the ninth convocation — up to 18-25 seats on party lists and up to 30 in general, subject to victories in some single-member districts. According to the latest data from the Public Opinion Foundation, the party's rating is 5% and allows it to count on the fourth place in the State Duma elections, Dmitry Orlov summed up.