Putin tempts voters with payout sweeteners
Pensioners and military personnel to benefit in move that critics say is intended to ‘buy’ election
VLADIMIR PUTIN, the Russian president, has ordered one-off payouts to pensioners and the military, attracting accusations of buying votes ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections.
Mr Putin discussed the proposal at a meeting with United Russia, the deeply unpopular ruling party that is currently polling at record lows.
He signed a decree yesterday to release payments of 10,000 rubles (£99) to all Russian pensioners and a 15,000 rubles (£149) payout to all military personnel, citing high inflation and coronavirus restrictions.
The payments will be released at the beginning of next month, days ahead of the parliamentary vote.
“The ratings are going down, and they have to take urgent steps,” said Abbas Gallyamov, a Moscow-based political analyst.
“There’s nothing new they can come up with right now,” he said in a television interview, speaking of the Kremlin. “They’re in a historical impasse.”
The most recent survey by stateowned pollster FOM earlier this month showed United Russia struggling to get more than 27 per cent of potential votes, its lowest level in 13 years.
A poll in Moscow in May showed less than 15 per cent of the city residents willing to vote for the party, which has been tainted by corruption scandals.
Mr Putin has never been a member of United Russia, but helped found the party 20 years ago and describes himself as a supporter. “Handouts ahead of the election is an important sign that United Russia’s ratings are in real trouble,” said Lyubov Sobol, a close ally of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
“They have no positive agenda and can’t offer any reforms. Promises no longer work, and the elections are getting closer, so they decided to use the old trick: buy votes.”
Pensioners remain Mr Putin’s core voters as growing apathy about the country’s political development makes younger, more economically active Russians stay at home and boycott elections.
Authorities have worked for months to disqualify any candidates who can pose a genuine threat to Kremlin nominees. Some, like associates of Mr Navalny, have been explicitly barred from running.
The remaining political parties, like the Communists, have spoken out against the government in the past, but joined forces to support Mr Putin’s landmark initiatives such as the 2014 annexation of Crimea or last year’s constitutional amendments, allowing him to essentially rule for life.
Yuri Gayduk, a Communist lawmaker in Russia’s eastern Siberia who is also running for parliament, yesterday described the payouts as a “blatant example when a public official suggests that United Russia buy votes.”
Mr Putin would be better off creating conditions for sustainable economic growth rather than “getting rid of discontent by handing out cash,” he said.
United Russia’s declining ratings have sparked fears about vote-rigging.
For the first time since 1993, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe has decided not to deploy its observers at polling stations in Russia, citing restrictions announced by the government.