An open letter by Emilia Slabunova to Dmitry Medvedev, leader of the United Russia party, 5.08.2021

Photo from Emilia Slabunova’s FP page: Banners placed by United Russia in Petrozavodsk run: “United Russia means a renovated Petrozavodsk airport. Departures and returns in comfort.

To: Dmitry A. Medvedev,

Chairman of the All-Russian

political party UNITED RUSSIA

Dear Dmitry Anatolyevich,

On 19 September, 2021, elections of deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and elections of deputies of legislative (representative) bodies of state power in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation will take place. In the Republic of Karelia elections of deputies to the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia will take place.

Political parties as the main subjects of the electoral process began active campaigning. The Karelian branch of the All-Russian political party United Russia has placed visual advertising in the streets of Petrozavodsk, in which the social objects and transport infrastructure facilities built [by the state] in recent years were actually appropriated as achievements of the United Russia party.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that these objects were built in accordance with various state programmes approved by state authorities and their officials. In accordance with Article 10, Clause 3 of the Federal Law No 95-FZ “On Political Parties” of 11.07.2001, “Persons holding state or municipal positions and persons in state or municipal service are not entitled to use the advantages of their official  position in the interests of the political party of which they are members, or in the interests of any other political party… These persons, with the exception of deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, deputies of other legislative (representative) bodies of state power and deputies of representative bodies of municipalities, cannot be bound by decisions of a political party in the performance of their official or official duties.” In accordance with the law, the interference of political parties in the activities of state bodies and officials is regarded as a mixture of state and public functions, which is fraught with the appropriation of powers by the [political] parties. Unfortunately, the wording presented in the advertisement is evidence of this.

In addition, the construction of these facilities was implemented at the expense of the federal and the regional budget, formed at the expense of taxpayers of different party affiliation, as well as those non-affiliated with any political party. The wording of the party advertisement makes it clear that the control of the budget has been appropriated by the United Russia party.

It is also important to note that at the elections of deputies to the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia in 2016, the United Russia party received 33.20% of the votes of the Republic’s voters (70,359 votes in absolute terms out of 536,315 voters registered as of July 1, 2016) with a turnout of 39.41%, while six other parties LDPR, A Fair Russia, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Yabloko, Patriots of Russia, and Motherland received 62.48%, of which four parties that became parliamentary at the regional level got 58.78% of the vote. These results do not give the Karelian branch of United Russia grounds to present itself as the manager of state budgetary funds, both regional and federal.

I am asking you to stop the use by members of your party of unscrupulous and manipulative campaigning methods that mislead voters.

Sincerely,

Emilia Slabunova,

member of the Political Committee

of the Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko,

candidate for deputy of the

State Duma of the Russian Federation

EMILIA SLABUNOVA

is member of the Federal Political Committee of the Yabloko party, Chair of Yabloko in 2015-2019.

Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia.

Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Honored Teacher of Russia