In a youth-crazed country that cranks out new musical stars in an endless series of televised competitions, it was only a matter of time before Russia’s political world caught up.
The Kremlin and United Russia, the country’s party of power, have poured millions of dollars into political youth movements over the past few years, organising lavish summer camps and massive rallies.
Now, United Russia’s youth wing is in the midst of what may be the most ambitious such project yet: a ”political factory” designed to create the next generation of Russian political leaders.
The project, named PolitZavod, which means ”political factory”, has whittled down a group of 1 000 applicants aged 28 and under to a lucky 55 who will receive a spot on actual United Russia candidate lists in local elections this fall.
Kirill Shekov (20) is the youngest of them — and a far cry from the stereotypical image of a Russian parliamentarian as portly, coarse and surrounded by shady characters.
The tall, smiling politics student won a spot on the United Russia party list for elections to the local assembly in the north-west province of Karelia through a months-long process of organising rallies, courting the local press and outwitting opponents in public debates.
”United Russia has caught on to this technique at just the right time,” Shekov said this week on the sidelines of a news conference where the PolitZavod winners were announced.
”Young people are used to searching for themselves in the political world and not finding any real possibilities, which can make them turn to radical organisations just to make a splash,” Shekov said. ”United Russia is offering a real chance to get involved in the country’s political life.”
Shekov appeared to be referring to the National Bolshevik Party, a radical youth movement that stages showy demonstrations against President Vladimir Putin and has frequent run-ins with police.
By contrast, United Russia’s youth wing, called Molodaya Gvardiya (Young Guards), supports the president as vocally as its parent party, which dominates the Russian Parliament.
Molodaya Gvardiya members will provide organisational support and staff campaign rallies for PolitZavod’s winners in the run-up to the October 8 elections, which will take place in Karelia and eight other Russian regions.
”We consider Molodaya Gvardiya to be a serious new political force with big possibilities,” said Ivan Demidov, a popular television host who heads the youth movement.
Demidov pointed to another PolitZavod winner, 24-year-old Zhanna Filonova, as evidence that the project could have concrete results.
Filonova received the number-five spot on United Russia’s party list for the regional assembly in Lipetsk in western Russia, where United Russia expects to receive six seats — meaning she has a good chance of winning.
Participants said United Russia, a party mocked by Russia’s dwindling political opposition as mindlessly bureaucratic and subservient to the president, is finally taking steps to liven up its ranks.
In spite of United Russia’s vast majority in the Parliament, ”they can’t say with 100% certainty that they’ll take all the seats in the 2007 Duma elections”, Shekov said. ”The party is trying to renew itself. It’s too early to say what will come of it, but it makes sense to try something new.” — AFP
