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Russian Party Asks Young: Who Wants to Be a Deputy?
Yevgeny Zenkov, left, Sergei Pozdnyakov and Pavel Lysenko were among early winners in a United Russia party competition to find youthful candidates.
(By Peter Finn -- The Washington Post)
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One question asked why Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Russian oil tycoon who clashed with the Kremlin, was in prison. Almost everyone wrote that he was guilty of financial crimes.
But others showed independence from the government's line.
Pavel Lysenko, a 21-year-old who works for the local Interior Ministry, said Khodorkovsky was in jail only because "he was able to earn money and the Russian mentality can't tolerate that." Yevgeny Zenkov, a 23-year-old chemistry teacher and boy scout leader, said Khodorkovsky was "in jail for his political views."
Both Lysenko and Zenkov are still in the contest.
Entrants also recorded 45-second videos in which they stated why they wanted to be members of parliament. A panel of judges, including Young Guard activists and well-known young people from Lipetsk, conducted follow-up interviews by phone.
"I was looking for some creativity," said Maxim Bereznev, a 23-year-old break dancer who took part in the judging.
On June 4, the original field of 60 was cut to 20, half of whom had no previous affiliation with United Russia or Young Guard, according to their questionnaires.
Contestants heard the news on the beach, where United Russia had set up a stage and DJs from a local radio station played Russian hip-hop and house music. To the side, under a stand of trees, young activists grilled hot dogs and people helped themselves to the mineral water for which Lipetsk has been famous since the days of Czar Peter the Great.
The winners were called up to the stage in groups of four. In responses to a DJ, the fledgling politicians proclaimed their devotion to the party, democracy and the Russian way of life.
"It's not important which party you belong to," said Sergei Pozdnyakov, 26, a former Communist Party loyalist who was among the 20 preliminary winners. "The main thing is to be with people who have some sincere beliefs."
Over the next month, the winners have to gather the signatures of 500 people who pledge to support them in the fall elections. They also have to organize some local events to show their political smarts. The contest will end with a debate among the 20 aspirants before the judging panel makes its final decision.
On June 27, five final winners will be chosen in Lipetsk and added to the party list. Three of those will almost certainly end up in parliament.
"We're looking for energetic, thinking patriots," said Alexei Demikhov, head of Young Guard in Lipetsk. "And our main task is to choose those we won't feel ashamed of when they become deputies."
