In the near future, the once successful Rodina party may end its existence in Russia. Political scientist Ilya Grashchenkov writes about this on his blog, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The expert notes that under the leadership of State Duma deputy Alexei Zhuravlev, Rodina “does not demonstrate any particular success, for example, in the 2016 State Duma elections it gained only 1,4%.”
“And if this year “Rodina” does not show results, it may well be “merged”, replacing it with the more radical Prilepin party “For Truth,” since one patriotic project is enough for the country,” says Grashchenkov.
The expert considers both “Motherland” and “For Truth” by Prilepin to be technical projects of the authorities, with the help of which, for example, it is possible to “bite off” interest from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Liberal Democratic Party.
However, in his opinion, “the Prilepinites, unlike Rodina, are not just left-wing patriotic radicals, but they are also a party of Donbass veterans, using popular national defense rhetoric, for example, “take Kiev!”
“Realizing that such positions may be held by up to 5% of those voters who usually vote for the LDPR and, to a lesser extent, for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the creators of the movement expect to use it as a spoiler for the parliamentary opposition, which can seriously strengthen against the backdrop of the coronavirus crisis. But having two spoilers on the same platform means pitting them against each other and, ultimately, playing into the hands of those same communists.
The chances of “Rodina” holding the clearing are low and consist only in the fact that “For Truth” is poorly prepared for a single voting day in 2020. They have poor political technology support, little experience, and no field structures, whereas Rodina has all this. But it will not be easy to prove oneself in the difficult conditions of the campaign, and the Kremlin will support Prilepin,” says Grashchenkov.