#12 - JRL 7252
RosBusinessConsulting
July 16, 2003
Russian parties embrace new PR methods

According to the Rossiiskie Vesti newspaper, the fight for voters focuses on efforts to attract undecided electorate. In the course of time, it becomes more and more difficult to manipulate voters.

Dick Morris, one of the leading American PR experts, believes that the contemporary society only trusts those candidates and parties who faced problems close to ordinary people, and has some experience in solving them.

According to the newspaper, voters don't want classic American PR anymore, with its focus on emotional effect, where image is everything. Such methods, which were widely used during previous election campaigns, led to lower turnout in elections and an increasing number of votes "against all candidates".

Today, voters demand clear election programs. According to the Rossiiskie Vesti, Sergey Glazyev and Alexander Khloponin are among the first politicians who meet these requirements. The started with a 10 percent recognition and a 3-4 percent support and increased them to 20 percent.

As for other candidates, "old-timers" like the United Russia party have less chance for success than in the last election. It is more difficult to win voters "in the second round". The left-wing Communist Party also doesn't hurry to renew its ranks. Other leftist parties are too weak so far, and they lack experience.

According to the newspaper, the People's Party of Russia headed by Gennady Raikov and the Yabloko party, headed by Grigory Yavlinsky, they are conducting their elections campaigns correctly, but it is clear that they will not lead in nation-wide elections.

According to the Rossiiskie Vesti, European PR tradition is better suited to Russia than the American model, rather cynical and noisy. The multi-party concept, the complex system of interests of economic and political elite groups and the orientation towards real material values and not towards the ideology of success, all this corresponds to Russian reality.