the Kremlin has decided who will go to the presidential elections in 2024

The Kremlin has decided on Vladimir Putin’s “competitors” for the 2024 presidential election. One of the main criteria for their selection was age. “Meduza” writes about this with reference to sources close to the presidential administration.

According to the interlocutors of the publication, officials believe that the presence of politicians younger than 50 among the registered candidates may make Russians think that the 70-year-old Putin is “no longer the man who came to power with a firm hand.”

At the moment, the Kremlin expects that, in addition to Putin, who has not yet officially announced his intention to run for office, representatives of three parliamentary parties will go to the elections: the CPRF, LDPR and “New People”.

The Kremlin sees Gennady Zyuganov as a candidate for the CPRF. As one of Meduza’s interlocutors explained, Zyuganov is familiar with the president, his surname is familiar to every voter. At the same time, he has a ceiling and he will not attract new voters. Currently, Zyuganov’s trust rating according to Levada-Center polls is 3%, the CPRF’s rating according to VTSIOM is 10%.

According to the Kremlin’s plans, party leader Leonid Slutsky should become the candidate of the LDPR. An interlocutor in the leadership of the LDPR confirmed this information. A source close to the presidential administration said about the nomination of Slutsky as follows: “He is well suited – a serious man in office, in a jacket. No one will say that this is a pure spoiler.”

They would like to see its leader, businessman Alexei Nechaev, as a candidate for the “New People” party in the Kremlin. However, according to two “Meduza” sources close to the Kremlin, Nechaev himself understands that “he will not be given a lot of percentages, but he does not want to receive crumbs and be a Leshey 2%.”

Instead of himself, Nechaev proposes the deputy chairman of the State Duma, Vladyslav Davankov. However, the Kremlin is not satisfied with this candidacy. The fact is that Davankov is 39 years old and he can perform normally in public. As the interlocutors of the publication note, it is clear that he will not receive a large percentage, but a young and active candidate can make voters think about Putin’s age.

According to a survey conducted by the Russian Field company in May of this year, age is the third most popular answer to the question about what Russians “dislike” in the current president. And the officials interviewed by “Meduza” said that Vladimir Putin is increasingly called “grandfather” among himself.

• Presidential elections in Russia are scheduled for March 17, 2024. Vladimir Putin has not yet officially announced his intention to run for a fifth term.