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INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MOSCOW 000375 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2020 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR KDEM ECON RS
SUBJECT: RYAZAN REGIONAL ELECTIONS:  YABLOKO QUITS, LASHES 
OUT AT RIGGED SYSTEM 
 
Classified By: Acting Political Minister Counselor David Kostelancik. 
Reason:  1.4 (b), (d). 
 
 
¶1. (C)  Summary:  During the March 14 Ryazan Regional 
Parliamentary Elections, six parties will compete for 36 
Oblast Duma seats.  February 5 was the registration deadline 
for submitting signatures.  Opposition parties and pundits 
agree that the elections will be neither free nor fair. 
Yabloko dropped out of the race and denounced the 
undemocratic election process as a reflection of a rigged 
system which favors United Russia.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C)  On February 10, we drove three-hours South West of 
Moscow to Ryazan oblast.  Ryazan city, one of Russia's oldest 
cities at 915 years old, is known for its 
architecturally-renowned Ryazan Kremlin.  It is also known 
for the mysterious circumstances involving Russian apartment 
bombings in 1999 in which Russian opposition accused the FSB 
of organizing the incidents, by placing explosives in bags of 
sugar, to help Putin get elected in 2000.  On March 14, 
candidates will compete for 36 seats in the Ryazan Oblast 
Duma elections.  In a mixed electoral system, voters will 
elect 18 candidates from party lists, as well as 18 from 
single-mandate districts.  February 5 was the registration 
deadline, and the local government will announce the election 
results on March 15. 
 
Six Parties in the Running 
-------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C)  Six political parties are running in the elections: 
the ruling United Russia party; the Communist Party of the 
Russian Federation (KPRF); the Liberal Democratic Party of 
Russia (LDPR); Just Russia; Right Cause, and Patriots of 
Russia.  Our sources agreed that the four parliamentary 
parties, United Russia, LDPR, KPRF, and Just Russia, would be 
represented in the new Ryazan Oblast Duma, and that the 
opposition, which is virtually nonexistent, had a slim 
chance.  In terms of activity: 
 
--United Russia has 18 single-mandate and 57 party list 
candidates.  Aleksandr Gurov, an attorney who works in the 
press center for the environmental organization Sovetnik 
Legal Services told us that he did not think the elections 
would be free and fair and that the outcome had already been 
decided; "United Russia will definitely win the majority of 
seats."  He also told us that United Russia Leader and State 
Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov was in Ryazan in the end of 
January to meet with government bureaucrats prior to the 
elections, but that the visit was presumably to bolster 
support for his party. 
 
--KPRF has 15 single-mandate and 17 party list candidates. 
We met with KPRF regional organization leaders and Oblast 
Duma deputies Yevgeniy Ryabko and Ivan Khrenov who described 
their candidates.  They said that Vladimir Fedotkin, a State 
Duma deputy would head the party list, followed by Alexander 
Tarasso, an Oblast Duma deputy, and Ryabko would be third. 
The candidates vary in age and a number of women, including 
City Duma deputy Evalina Volkova, are running, which is 
notable since only two women are currently serving in the 
Ryazan Oblast Duma.  Although KPRF currently has only four 
seats, it expects to obtain about four single-mandate seats 
and five or six party list seats.  Ryabko and Khrenov said 
that KPRF has a 24 percent rating in Ryazan Oblast while 
United Russia's popularity has been falling in the region 
(though he did not give specific figures). 
 
--LDPR has 18 single-mandate and 57 party list candidates. 
We did not meet with any LPDR representatives, but Ryabko and 
Khrenov told us that a number of State Duma deputies top the 
list for the sake of name recognition even though they do not 
work in Ryazan. 
 
--Just Russia has 18 single-mandate and 21 party list 
candidates.  We did not meet with any of their 
representatives. 
 
--Right Cause has 20 party list candidates.  We met with 
Aleksandra Perekhvatova, regional organization chair and 
Ryazan Oblast Duma deputy.  Perekhvatova has been serving in 
the Oblast Duma since 2005 when she won as an SPS member and 
she will head the Right Cause party list.  She told us that 
her party easily obtained 10,000 more signatures than it 
needed to meet election law registration requirements and she 
thought they would get at least two seats.  Perekhvatova 
pointed out that there are 13 women and seven men on the 
Right Cause party list, and predicted they would draw the 
 
MOSCOW 00000375  002 OF 003 
 
 
attention of women voters.  The Right Cause candidates have 
diverse occupational backgrounds, such as lawyers, teachers, 
and small business owners, and also vary widely age. 
 
--Patriots of Russia has only 12 party list candidates.  Our 
sources all agreed that although Patriots obtained the 
necessary 20,000 signatures required for non-parliamentary 
parties, they would not win a seat in the elections. 
 
Yabloko Quits in Protest 
------------------------ 
 
¶4. (C)  While KPRF's Ryabko and Khrenov claimed that Yabloko 
pulled out of the local elections because they could not 
obtain the necessary signatures, Yabloko regional 
organization leaders Konstantin Smirnov and Anatoliy Kivva, 
as well as Yabloko member Andrei Krivorotko argued that they 
quit in protest after receiving 16,000 signatures.  These 
members claimed that the system was rigged against them to 
such a degree that they were disadvantaged.  They did not 
think they could win any seats in a system in which United 
Russia and the governor used administrative resources against 
"non-official" opposition parties, like Yabloko.  For 
instance, when they wanted to reserve a conference room in 
which to gather, they encountered problems with the local 
authorities.  The Yabloko members admitted, however, that 
Yabloko was struggling to run a strong campaign with a budget 
deficit and that they officially only had 300 members in the 
region.  Krivorotko, who in addition to being a Yabloko 
member works for News Media Russia, and Smirnov, who also 
works for Novaya Gazeta, told us that they would use their 
media connections to speak out very loudly about Yabloko's 
reasons for opting out of the elections.  They claimed that 
the election results would be falsified and that United 
Russia would pre-determine the outcome of the elections. 
They did not think they would have obtained five percent of 
the votes within the current system since they contend the 
voting is so controlled.  By speaking out, their primary 
objective is to try to initiate reforms to the electoral 
system. 
 
United Russia Governor and Mayor 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C)  Governor Oleg Kovalyov and Mayor Oleg Shishov are 
both members of the United Russia party.  Then-President 
Putin nominated Kovalyov as the Ryazan governor in March 
¶2008.  Kovalyov had previously served in the State Duma since 
1999 and, according to observers, was a "major United Russia 
figure."  Mayor Shishov has been Head of the Ryazan City 
Administration since August 2008.  Former Mayor Fyodor 
Provotorov was prosecuted for killing two people in a car 
accident in September 2006. 
 
Election Shenanigans 
-------------------- 
 
¶6. (C)  Ryazan School of Human Rights Head Sofya Ivanova and 
her deputy Aleksandr Bechtold, who is also a Solidarity 
movement leader, highlighted various under-handed tactics 
that the local government and United Russia have already been 
using to sway voters.  The Ryazan city government allowed 
United Russia to place huge billboards in government-owned 
bus stops, whereas they either told opposition groups that 
there was no bus stop advertising space available or they 
dramatically inflated the rates.  We saw United Russia signs 
posted in bus stops throughout the city.  United Russia also 
had candidates stand outside popular shopping centers and 
large grocery stores handing out shots of vodka to passersby. 
 Ivanova claimed that this tactic was a sure way to attract 
the "homeless, alcoholics, and the lower class" to vote in 
favor of United Russia.  Bechtold told us that the local 
government pressured its employees to vote for United Russia. 
 If the employees voted for other parties, they would be 
harassed at their workplaces or even fired.  Bechtold alleged 
that the local government targeted the sick at hospitals and 
clinics, denying them medical services and medication if they 
did not vote for United Russia.  Lastly, United Russia has 
been known to bring citizens from the suburbs and regions 
into the cities to vote en masse.  Both Ivanova and Bechtold 
said that they have been recording these methods of coercion 
and they plan to publish a Solidarity report on election 
irregularities in the region. 
 
Press Coverage 
-------------- 
 
¶7. (C)  Election coverage in regional press is minimal. 
Ryazan boasts four television channels and availability of 
 
MOSCOW 00000375  003 OF 003 
 
 
both national and regional newspapers.  Our sources had mixed 
viewpoints on freedom of the press.  Perekhvatova argued that 
freedom of the press was healthy and that she often saw 
"pro-con" opinion pieces and ones critical of official 
positions in the press.  However, Ryabkov, Khrenov, Ivanova, 
Smirnov, Kivva, and Bechtold all agreed that the press was 
not free when it came to elections.  They told us that the 
media prevented coverage of their candidates and some 
newspapers charged for interviews or to rent the facility in 
which an interview would be held.  Kivva and Smirnov, 
politicians with Yabloko and members of the more independent 
media outlets concurrently, commented that the entire mass 
media system had been built specifically to maintain the 
status quo in the region. 
 
Lack of Freedom of Assembly 
--------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C)  There are pro- and anti-government demonstrations on 
a semi-frequent basis in Ryazan.  It seems that the 
government prevents demonstrations whose expressed focus is 
government consolidation or abuses of political power, or 
those that advocate regime change.  Bechtold mentioned that 
the protesters do not receive permits for any of the central 
locations in Ryazan, but the local authorities offer to allow 
them to hold their protests in parks outside the city.  There 
is generally an excuse associated with the unavailability of 
central meeting places, be it construction, a previously 
scheduled engagement, or an event of pro-government groups. 
Most protests have a large police presence, are hidden from 
public view, and lack media coverage.  Ivanova mentioned that 
often agitated groups of pro-government youth counter 
protests and start a commotion or provoke opposition 
protesters.  The local authorities often pin the blame of any 
subsequent violence on the opposition leaders.  Perekhvatova, 
Khrenov, and Ryabkov all concurred that their parties were 
able to hold demonstrations, but admitted that their 
demonstrations had a different tone.  They protest on 
particular issues such as pensions, veterans affairs, and 
memorials of holidays, instead of urging investigation of the 
government or political abuse of ruling parties. 
 
Human Rights Situation 
---------------------- 
 
¶9. (C)  Xenophobia in Ryazan is a growing problem.  Bechtold 
commented that groups involved in promoting human rights were 
subject to government intervention and obstruction.  Both 
Bechtold and Ivanova cited increasing xenophobia in the 
Ryazan oblast, including two recent murders of Chinese and 
Uzbek nationals who had been working in Ryazan.  Most of this 
violence has been emanating from several active right-wing, 
neo-Nazi, ultra-nationalist groups in the suburbs which 
regularly engage in anti-immigrant violence and hooliganism. 
Bechtold and Ivanova conveyed that the youth were 
increasingly apathetic to politics. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10. (C)  United Russia is likely to win the elections in 
Ryazan, but Yabloko's outspoken criticism may actually have a 
positive impact on the results.  We would not be surprised if 
Right Cause obtains a seat.  It seems that Yabloko has yet to 
recover from its stinging loss in the October 2009 elections. 
 The Ryazan elections may prove to be one of Yabloko's last 
opportunities to be a squeaky wheel in that region before 
financial and leadership woes restrict its activities. 
 
Beyrle