No. 005 The Primorye Gubernatorial Election: Welcome to the Twilight Zone

  

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        No. 5

                                                    

                                     U.S. Consulate General, Vladivostok

                                                           April 19, 2001

 

The Primorye Gubernatorial Election: Welcome to the Twilight Zone

 

As the April 21 deadline for submitting registration signatures approaches, the various gubernatorial hopefuls are engaging in ever-more desperate— and some would say downright strange—maneuvers to gain the advantage in the election race.  This E-Mail chronicles some of the stranger developments we have noted over the past few days.

1.  Apanasenko to Pulikovskiy: Registering is Hard to Do

 Rumors coming out of the Primorye Election Commission indicate that the Center’s anointed candidate, PolPred Deputy Gennadiy Apanasenko, may actually fall short of the necessary signatures and be disqualified from the election race.  This would leave the field to home-grown candidates, but many of them are having difficulty registering as well.  Thus far, only five of the 31 hopefuls have submitted enough signatures to be registered as candidates: Vladimir Grishukov, leader of the Primorye Communist Party;

Viktor Cherepkov, former mayor of Vladivostok; Aleskandr Kirilichev, Primorye Shipping Company General Director; Tat’yana Loktionova, former Chairman of the Primorye Arbitration Court; and Sergey Dar’kin, General Manager of “Roliz” (a Joint Stock Company).  Acting Governor Valentin Dubinin, the acknowledged front-runner, is expected to submit his signatures today, as is another heavyweight in the contest, Primorye Duma Chairman Sergey Zhekov.

2. Pulikovskiy Tells Leaders to “Take a Break.” Tolstoshein Volunteers his Services

During his flying visit to Primorye this week, PolPred Konstantin Pulikovskiy criticized Dubinin and Zhekov (as well as his own protege Apanasenko) for remaining on the job while campaigning, suggesting that they all “go on leave as quickly as possible.”  However unlikely this eventuality may be, former First Deputy Governor Konstantin Tolstoshein resurfaced in a radio interview today to declare his readiness to serve as acting Governor in Dubinin’s absence!  Simultaneously, the pro-Nazdratenko tabloid “Novosti” published a story alleging that Tolstoshein had never actually resigned his position as First Deputy Governor, and therefore could become acting Governor if Dubinin left.  We’re not sure how the Center will be taking all this news, but presumably not well.

3.  Cherepkov and Nazdratenko Sitting in a Tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G

 Meanwhile, Gubernatorial hopeful Viktor Cherepkov has cemented his reputation in the popular mind as someone with more than just one screw loose by recently declaring that he and Nazdratenko are no longer mortal enemies, and that in fact they sort of like each other after all.  This precipitated the abrupt resignation of Vladimir Baturin, Cherepkov’s campaign director, and much of his election staff.  As readers may recall, Nazdratenko ousted Cherepkov from his position of Mayor of Vladivostok in December 1998 after a two-year struggle.  During the exchange of verbal fisticuffs, Nazdratenko accused Cherepkov, among other things, of being a UFO loony (see Vladivostok E-Gram 001 of  December 15, 2000).  Now, apparently, all is forgiven, with Cherepkov declaring after a restaurant meeting with Nazdratenko that his “views are actually quite close to those of the former Governor” (Novosti, April 17, 2001).  Political pundits, such as they are in this part of the world, theorize that Cherepkov is trying to gain the allegiance of rural voters in Primorye, with whom Nazdratenko is still very popular.  On the other hand, others make the observation that Cherepkov’s recent antics will almost certainly lose him votes in Vladivostok itself.

 4.  Nazdratenko: Tired of Fish?

Rumors circulating in Primorye indicate that former Governor Yevgeniy Nazdratenko may soon attempt a political comeback.  If, as appears likely, the State Fisheries Committee will be merged into the Agriculture Ministry at the end of April, Nazdratenko will in effect be out of a job—or at least one with a Ministerial portfolio.  According to talk on the street, Nazdratenko would then seek to have the Gubernatorial elections postponed until September or December and run for re-election. Alternatively, he would run in the December Primorye Duma elections in his hometown, Dal’negorsk.  Following that, Nazdratenko enthusiasts claim, he would almost certainly be elected as Chairman of the Primorye Duma, and become the “legislative governor” of the region.

I did tell you this was the Russian Far East, didn’t I?