Law and reason: why United Russia is going to the State Duma elections

Raising the minimum wage to 35 thousand rubles, annual family payments, modernization of dozens of airports, renovation of schools and clinics — these and other measures were included in the national program, which United Russia approved on August 22 at the second stage of the pre-election congress. Vladimir Putin spoke at it, declaring his support for the party in the upcoming elections. At the same time, political scientists call the reduction of the distance between candidates and voters and the transition from formal reports to a live dialogue one of the main challenges of the campaign.

What Vladimir Putin said at the United Russia congress

On August 22, United Russia held the second stage of its pre-election congress at the Megasport Palace in Moscow. The place was not chosen by chance: only such a large arena could accommodate over 3 thousand guests. Two months ago, delegates gathered here in the same composition to decide on candidates for the State Duma elections and the "federal five" (which included Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, military commander, Hero of the Russian Federation Evgeny Poddubny, children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova and Hero of the Russian Federation Vladislav Golovin). Now, the main task of the approved agenda is the adoption of an updated national program, designed for the next five years — until 2031.

Vladimir Putin attended the congress, which symbolically took place on the Day of the National Flag of Russia. The President said that the country's sovereignty and political system are being tested for strength today, stressing that Russia will not deviate from the principles of democracy even in the most difficult conditions.

"Even in the most difficult conditions, we will not deviate from the principles of democracy, and we are holding and will continue to hold elections at various levels throughout our large country, from the Far East to Novorossiya and Donbass," the head of state said.

For the first time, members of the SVO are running for the State Duma. Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that the Russian soldiers in the special operation zone would not let them down, since the whole country was with them. At the same time, the head of state stressed, the duty of United Russia is to do everything to win its independence. Concluding his speech to the applause of the audience, the president supported the party in the upcoming September elections and said the key words: "Together we will definitely implement all our plans, we will only go forward and serve Russia. Victory will be ours!"

Such public support from the president is not just an electoral signal, but a direct confirmation of United Russia's responsibility for the implementation of the state course, political analyst Dmitry Zinoviev believes. Given that the personal rating of trust in the head of state is traditionally higher than party indicators, United Russia has a significant reserve for attracting an electorate loyal to the president. However, in order to maintain this credibility, the team needs to transform its program from a set of election promises into a living mechanism of social architecture, where the results will be visible in solving the problems of each individual, yard, school or clinic.

Digital communication remains the main vulnerability of candidates, political scientist Alexandra Bokova draws attention. Voters on social media often have to communicate with faceless accounts and read government reports, instead of having a dialogue with a real person who is open to live communication. For an audience under 35, this creates an insurmountable barrier, and in this case, even the candidate's real achievements will not help fix the situation. Nevertheless, in the run—up to the September elections, United Russia has no equal in its ability to turn citizens' requests into results, and the key outcome of the campaign will not be the volume of slogans, but whose distance to a particular person will be shorter, the expert noted.

The main provisions of the United Russia program

The main outcome of the congress is the approval of a new people's program, with which the party will go to the polls. It is designed for a five—year period - until 2031. If the previous document of 2021 was adopted in completely different realities, then the updated strategy is designed to respond simultaneously to the current frontline and economic challenges, and to the question of how the country will live and develop further. Dmitry Medvedev, chairman of United Russia, said that the party had fulfilled all obligations under the previous program.

The program includes social, educational and technological blocks, as well as measures to support veterans of the military and their families. In the healthcare sector, the focus is on the development of primary medical care, the construction and repair of polyclinics, the modernization of hospitals and the support of doctors. In education, the party intends to continue updating schools and kindergartens, as well as seek to increase the prestige of the profession and pay teachers. Among the technological priorities are artificial intelligence, robotics, digital and space technologies.

A special place in the program is occupied by the support of veterans of the SVR and their family members, from rehabilitation to assistance in finding employment.

According to political scientist Tatiana Kosacheva, one of the advantages of the people's program is that the initiatives included in it have previously been tested in the regions and integrated into local development plans. The updated version of the program, the expert notes, is based on the strategic national goals set by the president, and at the same time takes into account the changed geopolitical conditions, including tasks related to a special military operation.

The application part of the program contains a list of specific tasks that the party plans to implement: to introduce an annual family allowance for working parents with two or more children, expand outpatient care for 9 million people at risk, increase the number of adult health centers by more than five times and fully provide children with type I diabetes with health systems. continuous glucose monitoring. It is also planned to send additional support to regions with low birth rates, simplify online registration of documents for newborns and obtaining maternity capital. United Russia promises to build 100 new kindergartens, make their work schedule convenient for parents, and give more than 5 million children the opportunity to relax and recover every year.

— It is very important for me that the family does not receive disparate support measures, separate payments, for example, or access to educational institutions or employment opportunities, retraining of mothers after maternity leave. And so that every family, regardless of its location, can receive comprehensive assistance, seamless assistance, and one—stop-shop assistance," Maria Lvova-Belova told Izvestia.

United Russia will continue to promote and improve housing conditions for 3 million families annually: it plans to build at least 60 million square meters of individual housing per year. The party also intends to launch a preferential rental program for families with children and modernize at least 75 airport complexes — a third of the country's entire network. Other tasks include expanding the Zemsky Uchitel program to include small towns and single—industry towns, raising scholarships for future workers and engineers in priority industries, and introducing benefits for enterprises that pay employees child support. In the medium term, Dmitry Medvedev called raising the minimum wage to 35 thousand rubles one of the main goals.

Elections to the State Duma

On August 22, the election campaign in the media officially began. Earlier, the CEC held lots for the allocation of free airtime and free print space in all-Russian state periodicals for parties participating in the election of deputies in the federal electoral district.

The parties United Russia, LDPR, the Party of Direct Democracy, the Greens, Fair Russia, Rodina, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Party of Pensioners, the Communists of Russia and the New People will take part in the struggle for the mandates of the State Duma in the federal district. Elections of deputies of the State Duma of the ninth convocation will be held in September. The voting will take place over three days, from September 18 to September 20. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the upcoming State Duma elections the most important domestic political event in the country.