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Moscow, 24 May: Demand for a radical renewal of the political elite has transpired in Russia. There may be an emergence of a new crop of promising national politicians in the near future and one can expect to see the large-scale emergence of new leaders on location in the next few years, a new report from the Centre for Strategic Developments (TsSR) says. (Passage omitted)
file photo

Potential leaders

On the basis of focus-group work, experts came to the conclusion that "the attempt to identify established all-Russian political leaders outside of the top parties has not yet yielded convincing results".

Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, in their view, is not able to go beyond the boundaries of the relatively narrow political niche that he occupies at the moment. "A significant share of the respondents, both among the middle class and also in other groups, categorically disapproves of him. The main reason for this is a widespread negative attitude towards oligarchs," the report authors say.

According to them, former Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin is not yet viewed as a political figure. However experts stress that "Kudrin's established image is unique and does not have analogies": "he is viewed first of all as a professional, rather than a liberal, which significantly narrows and weakens the motivation of his anti-electorate". This, experts suppose, creates preconditions for growing his personal brand in politics.

Respondents also do not view Deputy Prime Minister Dmitriy Rogozin as a political figure, however "his moderate anti-Western rhetoric combined with calls for strengthening the country's military might draw a positive reaction from most of the people polled," the report says.

Left Front coordinator Sergey Udaltsov has been named as one of the few politicians who have strong leadership qualities and a conviction about what he doing. However report authors point out that his distinctive appearance draws a negative reaction from respondents and is associated with crime.

Opposition activist Aleksey Navalnyy is not yet seen as an established political leader, "however many respondents indicate that in time, as he builds up more experience, reputation and accomplishments... (ellipses as received throughout) he could become attractive in this capacity". "Navalnyy still has limited recognition outside Moscow... Navalnyy does not draw a strong positive response as a political leader because of the absence of successful experience in large-scale state work with notable positive results, which are seen as important in the eyes of respondents," the report says.

Most respondents held a neutral view of the co-chair of the People's Freedom Party, Vladimir Ryzhkov. Young people were more sympathetic towards him.

Prokhorov's ally, the head of the City Without Drugs foundation, Yevgeniy Royzman, was criticized for "not being able to articulate his thoughts and expressing views that are not his own", and for always avoiding eye contact.

The founder of the Nashi movement, Vasiliy Yakemenko, who this week revealed plans to create his own party, is also popular among young people: according to the report, many noted his leadership qualities and admitted that he inspired trust. Conversely, older respondents gave negative assessments of Yakemenko and pointed to his excessive ambition.

Experts also did not find would-be all-Russian leaders among representatives of the so-called second echelon of Duma parties.

A Just Russia's Gennadiy Gudkov was described as a "politician of the 'old guard', someone about whom you could say that an old ox makes a straight furrow, but he does nothing to improve it either". Report authors conclude that "he could be appointed mayor - governor at best - but nothing more".

Respondents had polar opinions about his party fellow, Oksana Dmitriyeva: some liked her, others were emphatically against her. "Most were inclined towards the fact that she has no leadership qualities, that she is not very nice to listen to, that she is more like a mathematics teacher than a political leader," experts said.

Deputy Dmitriy Gudkov was most popular at the youth focus group: many saw that the had leadership qualities, talent and vigour, but also aggression, which was negatively viewed by respondents. Gudkov junior did not inspire trust among older people.

Deputy Ilya Ponomarev did not make a big impression on polled persons. "He is definitely not an opposition leader... many negatively responded to his aggression against the president and the incumbent authorities, as well as the slang terms he uses," the report said.

One Russia (United Russia) general council presidium secretary Sergey Neverov received strictly unflattering feedback: according to the research, almost all respondents spoke about him in negative terms, including supporters of the ruling party. Neverov was criticized for an absence of leadership qualities and for "like he is delivering CPRU Central Committee reports".

Emergence of new kinds of leaders

Report authors supposed that the "mass consciousness is still searching for new kinds of leaders" and "because the political environment has become generally more open and competitive", the emergence of a new group of promising national politicians may be a matter of the near future.

"As regards formal characteristics, people want a man-leader, aged 40 to 50, with administration experience and a clear, sufficiently specific programme, which he is able to convey in a clear and straightforward way," they say.

"Besides clarity and comprehensibility, people want appropriate behaviour. The methods used by many new politicians generally do not suit people... People are also repulsed by any sort of inadequate actions and statements - bathing in fountains, hunger strikes, as well as slang, jargon and statements like 'we have to be like Europe, but with our own little craziness'," the report says.

Experts note that people associate inadequacy with instability, and are thus repulsed by it. "An important element that helps gauge adequacy is, evidently, information about the politician's family and personal life, which helps reduce the uncertainty in assessing his personal qualities," they note. In their view, clothing, conduct and speech play a significant part - respondents use these signs to distinguish between people of new and old formation.

Also significant is the ability to act naturally and thus be closer to the people. "Focus groups show that a demand for a radical renewal of the political elite has transpired in Russia. This is not just about the leadership of the state, but about the political class as a whole, the way it is seen by the population on TV and through other channels," report authors stress.

According to them, the demand of renewal comprises two things: a rejection of the old and a desire for the new. Experts suppose that "in the next few years, one can expect the mass emergence of new leaders on location, who are able to attract sufficient attention from the population in order to win at local and regional elections and then use these victories to consolidate voters' trust by showing their ability and willingness to solve local problems".

Keywords: Russia, Politics - Russian News - Russia

Moscow, 24 May: Demand for a radical renewal of the political elite has transpired in Russia. There may be an emergence of a new crop of promising national politicians in the near future and one can expect to see the large-scale emergence of new leaders on location in the next few years, a new report from the Centre for Strategic Developments (TsSR) says. (Passage omitted)
file photo

Potential leaders

On the basis of focus-group work, experts came to the conclusion that "the attempt to identify established all-Russian political leaders outside of the top parties has not yet yielded convincing results".

Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, in their view, is not able to go beyond the boundaries of the relatively narrow political niche that he occupies at the moment. "A significant share of the respondents, both among the middle class and also in other groups, categorically disapproves of him. The main reason for this is a widespread negative attitude towards oligarchs," the report authors say.

According to them, former Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin is not yet viewed as a political figure. However experts stress that "Kudrin's established image is unique and does not have analogies": "he is viewed first of all as a professional, rather than a liberal, which significantly narrows and weakens the motivation of his anti-electorate". This, experts suppose, creates preconditions for growing his personal brand in politics.

Respondents also do not view Deputy Prime Minister Dmitriy Rogozin as a political figure, however "his moderate anti-Western rhetoric combined with calls for strengthening the country's military might draw a positive reaction from most of the people polled," the report says.

Left Front coordinator Sergey Udaltsov has been named as one of the few politicians who have strong leadership qualities and a conviction about what he doing. However report authors point out that his distinctive appearance draws a negative reaction from respondents and is associated with crime.

Opposition activist Aleksey Navalnyy is not yet seen as an established political leader, "however many respondents indicate that in time, as he builds up more experience, reputation and accomplishments... (ellipses as received throughout) he could become attractive in this capacity". "Navalnyy still has limited recognition outside Moscow... Navalnyy does not draw a strong positive response as a political leader because of the absence of successful experience in large-scale state work with notable positive results, which are seen as important in the eyes of respondents," the report says.

Most respondents held a neutral view of the co-chair of the People's Freedom Party, Vladimir Ryzhkov. Young people were more sympathetic towards him.

Prokhorov's ally, the head of the City Without Drugs foundation, Yevgeniy Royzman, was criticized for "not being able to articulate his thoughts and expressing views that are not his own", and for always avoiding eye contact.

The founder of the Nashi movement, Vasiliy Yakemenko, who this week revealed plans to create his own party, is also popular among young people: according to the report, many noted his leadership qualities and admitted that he inspired trust. Conversely, older respondents gave negative assessments of Yakemenko and pointed to his excessive ambition.

Experts also did not find would-be all-Russian leaders among representatives of the so-called second echelon of Duma parties.

A Just Russia's Gennadiy Gudkov was described as a "politician of the 'old guard', someone about whom you could say that an old ox makes a straight furrow, but he does nothing to improve it either". Report authors conclude that "he could be appointed mayor - governor at best - but nothing more".

Respondents had polar opinions about his party fellow, Oksana Dmitriyeva: some liked her, others were emphatically against her. "Most were inclined towards the fact that she has no leadership qualities, that she is not very nice to listen to, that she is more like a mathematics teacher than a political leader," experts said.

Deputy Dmitriy Gudkov was most popular at the youth focus group: many saw that the had leadership qualities, talent and vigour, but also aggression, which was negatively viewed by respondents. Gudkov junior did not inspire trust among older people.

Deputy Ilya Ponomarev did not make a big impression on polled persons. "He is definitely not an opposition leader... many negatively responded to his aggression against the president and the incumbent authorities, as well as the slang terms he uses," the report said.

One Russia (United Russia) general council presidium secretary Sergey Neverov received strictly unflattering feedback: according to the research, almost all respondents spoke about him in negative terms, including supporters of the ruling party. Neverov was criticized for an absence of leadership qualities and for "like he is delivering CPRU Central Committee reports".

Emergence of new kinds of leaders

Report authors supposed that the "mass consciousness is still searching for new kinds of leaders" and "because the political environment has become generally more open and competitive", the emergence of a new group of promising national politicians may be a matter of the near future.

"As regards formal characteristics, people want a man-leader, aged 40 to 50, with administration experience and a clear, sufficiently specific programme, which he is able to convey in a clear and straightforward way," they say.

"Besides clarity and comprehensibility, people want appropriate behaviour. The methods used by many new politicians generally do not suit people... People are also repulsed by any sort of inadequate actions and statements - bathing in fountains, hunger strikes, as well as slang, jargon and statements like 'we have to be like Europe, but with our own little craziness'," the report says.

Experts note that people associate inadequacy with instability, and are thus repulsed by it. "An important element that helps gauge adequacy is, evidently, information about the politician's family and personal life, which helps reduce the uncertainty in assessing his personal qualities," they note. In their view, clothing, conduct and speech play a significant part - respondents use these signs to distinguish between people of new and old formation.

Also significant is the ability to act naturally and thus be closer to the people. "Focus groups show that a demand for a radical renewal of the political elite has transpired in Russia. This is not just about the leadership of the state, but about the political class as a whole, the way it is seen by the population on TV and through other channels," report authors stress.

According to them, the demand of renewal comprises two things: a rejection of the old and a desire for the new. Experts suppose that "in the next few years, one can expect the mass emergence of new leaders on location, who are able to attract sufficient attention from the population in order to win at local and regional elections and then use these victories to consolidate voters' trust by showing their ability and willingness to solve local problems".

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