The meeting with the head of United Russia took place in an informal atmosphere. Photo: Ekaterina SHTUKINA
For the upcoming regional elections this weekend, United Russia has brought a truly invincible force. Ballot papers across the country will contain the names of more than three hundred veterans and participants of military service: attack aircraft, artillerymen, tank crews and signalmen, medics and UAV operators… These are not extras who were included in the list to increase the overall percentage. Front-line soldiers have already completed an intensive course at the party’s higher school; they communicate with voters, receive orders and plan to carry them out with the inexorability of an artillery salute.
Komsomolskaya Pravda spoke to some of these people and found out what led them to politics and how the experience gained at the front will help them in a new field.
ALL PROBLEMS ARE SOLVED AS LONG AS YOU ARE ALIVE
For Pavel Yarmolenko from Bashkir Kumertau, the war ended a year ago. He is a father of three children and worked as a shift supervisor at one of the Gazprom facilities. He volunteered for the Northern Military District, fought near Bakhmut, which, thanks to his efforts, Pavel, turned into Artemovsk again. In civilian life, I was even lost at first: I looked around and did not understand where I was or why. The consequences of shell impact, and simply the difficulties of returning to civilian life, took their toll.
Today, 12 months later, Pavel Yarmolenko is running for the Kumertau council. If someone had said this a year ago, I would never have believed it.
“The commander of the battalion’s reconnaissance group recently wrote to me: ‘Well,’ he says, ‘you give it to me,'” Pavel says. – He’s being nice. And all the guys supported me, they even wrote that I should definitely succeed. Don’t expect anything else from them, they are my brothers.
For Yarmolenko, the path to politics – not big politics, but for now local politics – began with the decision to pursue higher education. Veterans of the Northern Military District can study for free, so Pavel went to the nearest university – the Kumertau Institute of Economics and Law. There I got into a conversation with the vice-rector and even argued a little. And he apparently saw the potential and offered to try himself as a people’s representative.
“I didn’t even think about it,” Pavel says. “But I was told this: if not you, then someone else will take this place.” I looked around, saw different people… You know, the Northern Military District is a fashionable topic now, which doesn’t talk about how they were there and what feats they accomplished. There are a lot of such storytellers in politics too. So I decided: I’d rather try to do something, change something, than complain all my life.
The speed with which it was “put into circulation” surprised Pavel.
“The preparation is clear and continuous at all levels,” Pavel says. – As soon as I agreed to take part in the elections, I was immediately summoned to the United Russia party high school. And not just for show: there were conversations with speakers, lectures and assignments. They take you out of the blue, teach you how to communicate with people, listen and make decisions. And you start to see things completely differently. You understand that many of your political conversations were just a shot of oxygen. We are used to it: something is wrong, yes, the authorities are to blame. And then you understand that if you need a road and banks, you need to include them in this or that budget. You start to look at things from different angles and understand what is needed for this or that issue to move forward. It becomes clear: everything is done gradually, not quickly, but in constant motion. This is true both in civilian life and at the front: you will not achieve anything if you go forward with a sabre, you will only kill people.
Pavel Yarmolenko has no doubts about his future victory. What’s next? One of the main tasks, he believes, is the patriotic education of the younger generation. As an activist of the local public organization of veterans of the “Bars” of the Northern Military District, he and his comrades often perform in schools.
“Patriotic education is not just conversations or flag-raising,” explains the new politician. – I remember that in the Soviet Union, if adults scolded us in the yard, we would lower our heads and listen, even if it was not our fault. And now… An adult woman scolds a very small child, and he curses her with a three-story obscenity… Regaining respect for adults is the first thing to do.
However, Pavel’s main goal is the socialization of soldiers returning from the Northern Military District.
“Victory will come sooner or later,” Pavel is sure. – We need to strengthen the guys who return. So that what once happened to the Afghans does not happen again. They were detained by bandits and thugs. I suggested to the head of our city that all those who return should have at least six months of free exercise in sports complexes and swimming pools. At the front we wear 20 kg armor for days, the spine is compressed. To solve this problem, it is necessary to swim – a pool. For your joints you need exercise bikes. The guys will definitely like it, they will get involved and continue to train. Then we will put them into orbit.
Finally, I ask how the experience of fighting will help Pavel solve seemingly peaceful problems.
“The front taught me the main thing,” he says, “that all problems can be solved as long as you are alive.”
Dmitry Medvedev answered the questions as frankly as possible. Photo: Ekaterina SHTUKINA
MANUAL CONTROLS
Recently, veterans of the Northern Military District who ran for election met with the chairman of United Russia, Dmitry Medvedev. The conversation was frank and informal; the conversation often revolved around problems of housing and communal services. Anti-aircraft gunner Mikhail Bosholov from Buryatia said that the main question his constituents are asking is the fate of the dilapidated building of the outpatient clinic, which the authorities have promised to repair for many years. Dmitry Medvedev promised to help.
“This is amazing,” Mikhail admits now. “I was able to calmly ask the party leader a question and he listened to me. The issue, which had never been resolved, was moved forward. Voters are also very concerned about the problems related to management companies. Many, not without reason, believe that this legal form forces these offices to worry about profits and to seize property, out of proportion to their capabilities. I think that limits should be set. Or these responsibilities should be returned to the municipalities.”
And Oleg Funtikov, a veteran and coordinator of the State Fund Defenders of the Fatherland in the Penza region, asked Medvedev about the arrangement of the yards.
“The Urban Environment programme is designed for new residential areas, but most people live in the courtyards of the old ones, where there are no benches or playgrounds,” said the veteran.
Dmitri Medvedev agreed. He said that the party is doing this and will continue to do so.
“If I become a deputy, I will definitely continue to look into this issue,” says Oleg Funtikov. – I will also monitor the fulfillment of the obligations of management companies related to major repairs of the housing stock.
– How will front-line experience help you solve problems that more than one generation of managers have been dealing with? – I asked him as well.
“In some areas, manual control is necessary,” Oleg Funtikov replied. – And here determination and perseverance in fulfilling the assigned tasks will help. These are the key principles that have helped at the front. Break down the problem into its components and see how to solve them sequentially. Dmitry Medvedev said that politics needs new people, new blood. Well, I hope the country will find our opinion useful.
Before the special operation, Oleg Funtikov had experience in managing people: he headed the martial arts sports section. He volunteered for the Northern Military District zone almost immediately after the start of hostilities. He served in one of the Cossack units: at first he was the chief of staff of the battalion, and after a few months – the acting chief of staff, and then the full chief of staff of the brigade.
Studying at the party school changed many of the officer’s ideas.
“We talked to people who have been in politics for a long time,” Funtikov says. – And at the same time they are ready to share their knowledge. We are still influenced by these meetings and conversations. And you know, I realized that it was not easy for me to feel comfortable in this field. Because politics and the front are heaven and earth. In war there are almost no halftones, everything is black or white. There is a friend and there is an enemy, there is a yes and there is a no. But in politics everything is “grey”, non-specific: “possible”, “we will consider it”. There are followers or people who have joined, but it is difficult to find brothers with whom to reconnoitre. We, the people who fight, have the concept of a friendly shoulder. I hope that with our entry into politics something will change.
Patriotic education is one of the first places for Funtikov in his future work.
“The war is not only in the trenches, but also in the minds and hearts of people,” he says. – We are fighting there, on the front line, and now we must take up this battle. I was involved in patriotic education even before the SVO, there were even publications. But now I have thought about it a lot. It is necessary to structure the educational process, develop a multi-level model, model programs and recommendations.
YOU WILL FEEL WHEN YOU TAKE A CAST
In many ways, it was easier at the front than in political life, and many front-line candidates agree with this.
“In politics, there can be enemies among those who seem to be ‘ours,’” says Pavel Bezdenezhnykh from Irkutsk. In the Northern Military District he commanded a mortar battery of the Irkut regiment, and in civilian life he was a teacher of technology, physics and astronomy.
– There, at the front, you are sure that mechanics, cooks, assault, reconnaissance, artillery, even if you do not know them, will come to the rescue, do everything possible to advance, evacuate the wounded, supply ammunition, cover. And here some intrigues can be built against you… Spokes are put in the wheels when someone solves his own mercantile problems.
Denis Kozlov, a senior artilleryman of the 1182nd Guards Airborne Artillery Regiment from the Moscow region, spoke in a similar vein. According to him, in politics there are a lot of nuances and compromises to be taken into account, while at the front everything is very clear: here you are, and there is the enemy.
Denis went to the front in the fall of 2022. His daughter had just been born, but there was no doubt about the decision he had made. However, Denis thought about the political field even before taking part in the battles.
“It wasn’t so much about building a political career, but about simple interaction with people,” Denis says. – I helped with humanitarian aid, held consultations with the administration on this matter… I managed to get the guys in the unit to start receiving packages without overlaps. At some point, the opportunity to get involved in politics arose. It’s not that someone offered me something out of the blue… But it wasn’t like I was being offered directly… It was a great move towards the moment when aspirations coincided.
Denis now understands that back then, even before he made the decision to nominate, he had no idea what was in store for him.
“You can only feel it when you dive in,” he says. – Politics is not just about standing in front of a microphone and saying something. It is about huge flows of information and constant decisions based on it. Working with citizens, interacting with municipal services – everything reveals itself in a completely different way. I was surprised at how involved people in the party were in solving specific problems. Before that, it seemed that all this was more in words. But from within you can see that the work is serious and results-oriented.
From this point of view, according to Denis Kozlov, it is difficult to overestimate the value of studying at a party high school. First of all, emphasis was placed on the ability to communicate with voters. For example, students are taught to speak to people in simple language that they understand.
“Now we have to communicate a lot with citizens,” says Denis. – If it weren’t for studying, many moments would have been much more difficult. For example, you have to be able to respond to responses that are both positive and, to put it mildly, not very positive. It’s not as simple as I thought. But for the most part, people express their support and faith in us.
According to Denis Kozlov, if elected, he intends to work closely to improve the system of support for families of SVO participants.
“Many of them face bureaucratic difficulties and insufficient assistance,” says Denis. “My aim is to ensure that support is not only timely but also sufficient so that the children’s families feel protected and confident in the future.”
