Komsomolskaya Pravda: "United Russia supports Medvedev and Putin"
Nationwide celebrations of Constitution Day have marked the launch of United Russia's presidential election campaign to support its candidate Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Several rallies have been held under the slogan, "Glory to Russia!" Roughly 25,000 people gathered on Manezh Square to celebrate Constitution Day and Putin's campaign, the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs said. Although the number was lower in the regions, it was also in the thousands.
In Arkhangelsk, for example, over 1,000 gathered on Mir Square where the head of the local United Russia division, Ernest Belokorovin, gave a speech. He stressed the public's high level of support for the party, which ensured United Russia's victory in the State Duma elections.
"In the next five years, we should fulfil our election campaign promises as a joint effort with the citizens of the Pomorye territory. This is a huge task and we will do our best to live up to your expectations," Belokorovin said, inviting the crowd to support party leaders Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev.
Another pro-Putin rally was held in Volgograd on Tuesday. About 3,000 people gathered on Pavshih Bortsov Square for the rally organised by the Popular Front regional coordinating council. People carried posters reading: "Yes to Putin", "We Are United Russia", "Together We Shall Overcome", and "We Support Putin". In his speech, Vitaly Likhachev, the organiser of the Popular Front regional coordinating council, said that United Russia won the State Duma elections and the party's common goal is now to support Putin during the upcoming presidential elections.
"Putin is running for president as United Russia's candidate, and he stands for preserving our state and the region, and for uniting the people," Vladimir Efimov, the secretary of the Volgograd Political Council of the party's regional division, said. "Several thousand people gathered here today, and all of them believe in the unity of our state. This is public opinion, not the opinion of a bunch of people trying to ruin their country from the inside. This rally demonstrates our unity and our trust in the path that Putin has chosen."
Roughly 2,500 gathered to take part in a "Glory to Russia!" rally in Petrozavodsk on Tuesday. Politicians, representatives of public organisations and small and medium-sized business, retirees and young people participated in the rally. Many people carried posters reading: "Glory to Russia!", "Glory to Karelia!", "We Voted in Good Faith", "For Our Children's Future", "For Stable Development", "For Changes for the Better", and "It's Time to Build Our Future Together."
"The rally participants gathered to declare the Dec. 4 elections legal and the results fair," Alexander Selyanin, the secretary of the Political Council of United Russia's Karelian regional branch, said. "The people on Kirov Square know which direction the country's development should take. They are against sabotage and provocations. They stand for the stable future of their country."
Similar events were also held in Cheboksary, Smolensk, Perm and Orenburg.
A high-ranking member of United Russia, Sergei Zheleznyak, said that these are traditional party activities that are held every year. However, this year, he said, "we are celebrating the 18th anniversary of the Constitution and the country's coming of age."
"This is an important date, which means that the first free generation has grown up in modern Russia," Zheleznyak said. "They will have to face other challenges and also face those who want to weaken and ruin our country."
"We will not be led by those who plunged the world into the global crisis, who are not able to resolve their own internal problems. To show our determination, we are holding rallies with thousands of participants to support Putin and Medvedev not only in Moscow but in many regions throughout Russia," he explained.
According to Zheleznyak, all of the country's achievements are connected with Putin's leadership as he was "the only man who could be trusted with running our country during this hard time."
"In the early 2000s, Putin practically saved Russia from collapsing and losing its sovereignty," he said. "He proved that he is capable of uniting the people around him, that he can be a national leader, that he can carry responsibility for saving and developing our country, and that he can make the right decisions in the most difficult situations. That is what won him the support of the majority of our citizens. This is what United Russia's rallies have proved. Not only our activists have participated in them, but so have the supporters of many movements, trade unions and social organisations, which share our values and responsibility for their homeland's destiny."
Sergei Vladimirov
