As Kommersant learned, United Russia has decided on a list of candidates who will run for the State Duma in the single-mandate constituencies of Donbass and Novorossiya. Elections to the Russian parliament will be held in new regions for the first time. Most of the nominees will be local deputies, although among them there will also be figures with federal fame – for example, the military correspondent of Channel One Irina Kuksenkova.
The largest representation in the Duma among the new regions will have Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), on whose territory three single-mandate constituencies were formed. According to Kommersant sources, United Russia (UR) plans to nominate a war correspondent for the Makeyevsky district Irina Kuksenkova. She became widely known at the very beginning of the special operation: on March 4, 2022, the journalist visited Antonov airport in Gostomel (a suburb of Kyiv) and went on air against the backdrop of a burned-out An-225 Mriya, the world’s largest transport aircraft, destroyed by Ukrainian artillery fire. In April 2022, during the battle for Mariupol, Ms. Kuksenkova received shrapnel wounds to her legs, and in December, President Vladimir Putin awarded her the Order of Courage. After rehabilitation, the military correspondent began volunteering, becoming an ambassador of the Popular Front.
Like assumed “Kommersant”, in the Donetsk district, the deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots will be vying for re-election Alexander Borodai – He has already entered the primaries. In the outgoing convocation of the lower house, the former prime minister of the DPR represents the Rostov region. Finally, in the Gorlovka district, United Russia will nominate Alexey Muratov – head of the executive committee of the regional branch of the party and a close associate of the head of the republic Denis Pushilin. In 2023, Mr. Muratov applied for the post of Speaker of the People’s Council (Parliament) of the DPR, but at the insistence of the presidential administration, the position went to Sparta battalion commander Artem Zhoga (see “Kommersant” dated September 20, 2023).
IN Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), where two constituencies have been formed, local deputies will become United Russia candidates. According to Kommersant’s sources, the vice-speaker of the People’s Council will go to the Lugansk district Denis Kolesnikov – a former entrepreneur who was a member of both convocations of the republican parliament during the times of self-proclaimed independence. And in the Alchevsk district the chairman of the committee on health, education, science, culture, labor and social policy, family, youth, sports and tourism will run Ivan Sanaev. He began his career in the Krasnodon City Council back in Ukraine, and was elected to the People’s Council of the LPR in 2018.
Zaporozhye And Kherson the regions will receive one “single-mandate” member in the State Duma. The United Russia candidate from the first, according to Kommersant, will be a Crimean deputy Alexey Tikhomirov. He has four convocations under his belt in the State Council (parliament) of the peninsula, including one from the time of Ukraine. And in the Kherson district, as Kommersant has already reported, the former director of the Novokakhovsky bakery will run Elena Dmitruk. In 2023, she applied for the post of senator from the Kherson Regional Duma, but eventually became the first vice-speaker of the regional parliament.
The number of “list” mandates from Donbass and Novorossiya will depend on the turnout and the final result of the United Russia.
According to Kommersant’s calculations, up to six places can become eligible in the DPR, up to three in the LPR, and no more than one in each in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. Kommersant’s sources say that the United Russia lists in the new territories will traditionally be headed by governors – Denis Pushilin, Leonid Pasechnik, Evgeny Balitsky and Vladimir Saldo, respectively. Most likely, they will act as “locomotives”, that is, after the elections they will give up their mandates. Although it is possible that some of the heads may still continue their career in the lower house, Kommersant’s interlocutors make a reservation.
The first vice-speaker of the People’s Council is counting on passing positions in the Donetsk United Russia list Sergey Prokopenkoadvisor to the governor Konstantin Komlenok and a number of deputies who have already entered the primaries. In addition, Kommersant’s sources say that another adviser to Mr. Pushilin may get there Elena Nikitina. According to the list of United Russia members in the LPR, as Kommersant already reportedthe first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs will run Victor Vodolatsky. The first vice-speaker of the People’s Council is also vying for positions Andrey Sopelnikentrepreneur Maxim Maslennikov and a number of deputies. According to Kommersant, a senator from the regional legislative assembly wants to receive a “list” mandate in Zaporozhye Dmitry Voronabut the governor’s chief of staff can also compete for him Oksana Vyunik. Finally, the Kherson United Russia list may include the vice speaker of the regional Duma Pavel Tropkin and several more deputies who have already registered for the preliminary vote.
