Get involved in the Duma: LDPR has adopted a new election program

There are several months left before the elections to the State Duma, and the main parties of the systemic opposition have already held pre-election congresses. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Liberal Democratic Party presented lists of candidates and their programs. At the LDPR congress held on June 23, she called for a 3% preferential mortgage for young people and an increase in salaries of state employees in the regions to the level of Moscow. In the State Duma elections, an acute struggle for second place will unfold between the Communists and the national patriots, experts believe.

The essence of the new LDPR program

On June 23, the LDPR congress was held in the Moscow region as a stage of preparation for the September elections to the State Duma. This is a serious test of strength for the party: it needs to prove to voters its stability and effectiveness after the death of founder Vladimir Zhirinovsky. The politician's name has become a calling card and an important element of the LDPR's positioning. Recently, a large-scale exhibition was held in his honor at the Moscow Manege, which was visited by President Vladimir Putin.

An empty chair with a plaque with the name of Vladimir Zhirinovsky attracted the attention of journalists at the congress. According to Leonid Slutsky, the successor of the founder of the Liberal Democratic Party, the new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, "no one will take this place either in the party or in Russian politics." The main tasks of the delegates were the approval of the election program and the formation of a list of candidates.

In the program "100 days of Transformation of Russia", the Liberal Democratic Party combined social support for citizens and approval of its own. The party proposes to achieve an increase in pensions, salaries, allowances and scholarships. They plan to do this by restructuring the debts of the over-indebted population, restoring order in the housing and communal services sector and protecting the rights of shareholders.

To solve demographic problems, the Liberal Democratic Party proposes to reduce working hours for parents, reduce personal income tax for each child, and support single parents. Other initiatives include the launch of mortgages at 3% for young people and public sector employees, the free provision of land plots with already connected utilities for individual construction, as well as a radical reform of the Unified State Exam.

For economic growth, it is proposed to provide the real sector with affordable loans, reduce fines for entrepreneurs, regulate the migration labor market in favor of Russian citizens, and reform the Federal Antimonopoly Service to combat inflated prices. The key point of the program is to overcome regional inequality. The party demands to raise the salaries of regional state employees to the Moscow level, to build infrastructure at federal expense, and also to leave more collected income in the budgets of regions and municipalities.

"In these 100 days, we must launch solutions that will move the country towards development, protect people, and hold the authorities accountable to their citizens," Leonid Slutsky said.

The program guarantees high salaries and housing payments to its participants. It is symbolic that the federal top ten candidates included not only politicians (Leonid Slutsky, head of the election headquarters Maria Voropaeva, deputy Andrei Lugovoy), but also members of the SVO — volunteer brigade commander Alexei Vereshchagin and veteran Dmitry Zhirkov.

The Liberal Democratic Party is consolidating its patriotic niche by integrating a social block, with an emphasis on the regions and the "common man," Roman Molozhon, Deputy General Director of the Polylog Group for political projects, explained to Izvestia. The bet is placed on the role of the main aggregator of domestic irritation. However, sociology can play against the party: the declared support of the Liberal Democratic Party is converted into real votes worse than that of competitors.

How the pre-election congress of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation was held earlier

A little earlier, on June 20, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation held its congress in Moscow. The Communists were the second after the "New People" (whose congress was held in March) to open the election campaign. Their goal is to prove that the Communist Party remains the main opposition force in the country, without letting the Liberal Democratic Party get ahead.

Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov presented a large-scale plan called the Victory Program. He announced not just point-by-point changes, but a complete revision of the country's economic course. According to the party's calculations, their reforms will additionally attract more than 30 trillion rubles to the budget. The main idea of the Communists is to return to state five—year economic planning following the example of the USSR and modern China. The Communist Party demands to return the basic industries, energy and housing and communal services to state control, as well as to introduce a state monopoly on alcohol and tobacco. In the social sphere, the party proposes to strictly control the prices of essential products, medicines and children's goods.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation insists on the abolition of pension reform and the return of the previous retirement age: 60 years for men and 55 years for women. They plan to finance these reforms by abolishing VAT and introducing a tax on luxury and super-incomes of rich citizens.

In 2026, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation expects to gather the votes of all those who are unhappy with rising prices and Internet blockages, including Telegram. The Communists openly criticized one of their main rivals, United Russia. "So is this the president's party or the party of the failure of the president's decrees?" Oleg Smolin, deputy of the State Duma, asked, recalling inflation and unsatisfactory results in science and education.

The Communists solved the personnel issue conservatively. The Federal troika was headed by Gennady Zyuganov. Together with him, the head of Khakassia, Valentin Konovalov, whose experience in leading the region is designed to prove the effectiveness of the party, and the first deputy chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Yuri Afonin, are going to the polls. The congress also approved Pavel Grudinin, an agrarian, as a trusted representative of the party for trips to the regions.

Such a composition without new faces suggests that the Communist Party relies on manageability and predictability.

— The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is losing its ideological reserve: What looked like a state reconstruction project in 2021 is a set of social promises against the backdrop of the crisis in 2026. The opposition audience is increasingly looking for renewal and young faces, and they are less likely to find them among the Communists," says Roman Molozhon.

The past congresses have shown that there is a hot political season ahead. Both parties go to voters with similar slogans for justice and the fight against poverty, although the Communists harshly criticize United Russia and the decisions of the authorities. The Liberal Democratic Party proposes to solve problems precisely and pragmatically, helping business and the front. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation demands large-scale reforms and a turn to socialism on the Chinese model.

According to the results of the FOM poll from June 12-14, 2026, the LDPR ranks second after the EP with 12% of the vote, and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation comes in third with 9%. The "New People" from 8% are breathing down their backs. However, the situation may change by the election, so the final remains open.