Moscow, December 9 – Vladimir Putin’s initiative group for his potential candidacy in the 2024 elections has started its work with an inaugural meeting at the headquarters of the People’s Front. The group includes Artem Zhoga, a hero of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Mikhail Kuznetsov, the head of the People’s Front executive committee, and Vladimir Mashkov, the artistic director of the theater named after Oleg Tabakov. The Russian President announced his plans to run for a new presidential term last Friday.
The inaugural meeting was opened by Zhoga, the chairman of the People’s Council of the Donetsk People’s Republic. He shared how he approached Putin in the Kremlin with a request to run in the upcoming elections, and upon receiving a positive response, immediately contacted Kuznetsov, as well as the secretary of the General Council of the United Russia party, Andrey Turchak, to form the initiative group.
“Yesterday, in the Georgievsky Hall, I conveyed the request of my fellow comrades who are currently on the front lines, as well as the residents of our regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia – that they ask Vladimir Vladimirovich to run in the March 2024 elections. Vladimir Vladimirovich positively responded to the request, and we contacted Andrey Anatolyevich (Turchak), Mikhail (Kuznetsov), and decided to create an initiative group to develop an action plan,” Zhoga stated.
Kuznetsov expressed his gratitude to Zhoga for asking Putin the “key question.” “Yesterday, we heard the most important words from our president, which we have been waiting for so long. Vladimir Vladimirovich is running for the elections. I think it would not be an exaggeration to say that this event is not only of Russian but also of global significance. Artem, thank you very much for asking our president this most important question,” said the head of the People’s Front executive committee.
According to Kuznetsov, after discussing the matter, the initiators decided not to postpone this question and gather a group to nominate Putin for the elections as soon as possible. He emphasized that behind each of them are large and important communities for the country, which can join the group to support Putin’s electoral campaign. Over the course of one and a half years of work, the People’s Front, under the motto “All for Victory,” has united three million people to support soldiers at the front, the executive committee leader highlighted.
“I am confident that for each of them, this will be a wonderful opportunity. They will gladly participate in our work to nominate Vladimir Putin as a presidential candidate for Russia,” he added.
The United Russia party will also participate in Putin’s electoral campaign. The secretary of the party’s general council, Andrey Turchak, announced that they would provide the political force’s infrastructure and involve all party branches.
Furthermore, according to Valery Gartung, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Competition Protection, the party “A Just Russia” also intends to participate in the nomination procedure.
In addition to the aforementioned individuals, the initiative group also includes a majority of Russia’s creative professionals who have always supported the president, according to Vladimir Mashkov, the artistic director of the theater named after Oleg Tabakov. He recalled that after the start of the special operation, many pro-Western resources claimed that the majority of the creative intelligentsia did not support the president’s decision. “As a representative of the creative community, I can say that this is untrue, or rather, an absolute lie. The majority of our colleagues in the theater, cinema, and other creative activities have always been and will continue to be patriots of our country, always supporting the president,” Mashkov stated.
The artist emphasized that Putin pays great attention to all spheres of Russian state activity, and the field of arts is no exception. “I am confident that creative professionals support Vladimir Vladimirovich’s nomination for the post of the President of Russia and, of course, will create their own initiative group,” the artistic director said.
During the first meeting, the initiative group decided to hold a meeting of the group of voters. According to Mashkov, it was proposed to hold it at VDNKh on the platform of the “Russia” forum-exhibition. However, he noted that tens of thousands of citizens visit the exhibition daily, and the space is booked until March. The artist suggested gathering the voter group at the concert hall “Zaryadye,” whose management supported the initiative. It is there that the initiative group will meet in an expanded composition and make a decision to support Putin’s candidacy.
