The latest local elections in Russia have shown that power still can control the country politically. But also that some accidents can always happen. So in Khabarovsk, Siberia, two years ago the post of governor went to an opponent who, coincidentally, ended up in prison this summer.
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Also in the small town of Povalikhino, 500 km northeast of Moscow, the candidate of Putin’s United Russia party was defeated, but not by a fierce political opponent. The post of mayor went instead to Marina Udgodskaya, the cleaning lady of the municipality to whom the outgoing mayor had addressed desperately: she had no contenders and without any antagonist to defeat the elections would not have taken place. Marina, please apply! he had asked her. In the end, she did it and beat up Nikolai Loktev: 62% against 34% of the former mayor.
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And to say that Marina had not made any electoral campaign. Except that everyone in the village knows her. The 250 residents voted for the 35-year-old cleaner (and mother of two) because they value her. The old mayor was a bit too proud, according to many, and then he represents power, the one with a capital p. And in Povalikhino, as in the other 29 villages that are part of the municipality (about twenty are for uninhabited) Putin and his people have done very little. The roads are perpetually impassable, so much so that people often use wooden walkways spread over the mud to cross them. There is no public lighting and all the young people go to nearby Kostroma or Moscow in search of work. deep Russia, where people just try to survive. In the early years of Putin’s presidency, a bit of prosperity had arrived, with pensions more than doubled and many promises. Then the prices continued to rise and nothing more happened.
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So now the dissatisfaction grows. Alexei Navalny, one of the main opposition leaders that still in Germany recovering from the poisoning with Novichok suffered in Siberia before the vote, for some time now invites the Russians to choose any candidate from any party capable of defeating the men of United Russia. This did not go well, except in a few realities. In Khabarovsk the governor was blown and charges were brought against the new elected for alleged crimes committed 15 years ago. The region and the city have risen, with demonstrations that have continued for days, but the new governor is still in prison.
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In Povalikhino the situation is calmer and everyone seems to live the story with philosophy. She was in charge of cleaning, but also Tikhanovskaya, who is now the main opponent in Belarus was a mother of a family, says the spokesperson for the retirement party that sponsored Marina’s candidacy. And the former mayor adds slyly: I don’t see what problem there is in the fact that she now runs the place she used to clean. At least he knows all the rooms well
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October 26, 2020 (change October 26, 2020 | 23:12)
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