Chapter 1176: Industrialization of Election Campaign

In the final analysis, the biggest factor affecting Jinjing now, or the biggest basis for the opposition to criticize itself, is its own economic performance.

Although I borrowed a large amount of money from Fan Wubing before, there is always a time lag between investment and return. Making full use of this money as much as possible to solve my biggest headache obviously requires a lot of means, but Governing a country is obviously very hard. There are many unexpected events and there are more places to spend money. The phrase "stretched" is actually very appropriate to describe the current Russian economy.

Therefore, no matter from which aspect, Fan Wubing's arrival is a huge support for Putin. With his strength and Fan Wubing's funds, there should be no problem in suppressing these opponents in one fell swoop.

Just the day before Fan Wubing arrived in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly criticized the opposition for colluding with foreign forces at a rally of more than 5,000 people, saying that they planned to take to the streets to protest against the government, leading Russia to chaos and peace. turmoil.

Putin's speech was called the most severe attack on the opposition. In a few months, Russia will hold State Duma elections. This is both a summary of Putin's first presidential term and a preview of Russia's presidential election next March. A prelude and experiment, Russian domestic politics is entering the most sensitive period.

When the Russian media extensively reported Putin's speech, the West unanimously described him as an agitator, saying that he was trying to increase publicity for the election by demonizing his domestic opposition and the West, and intended to use this to maintain his power after he stepped down. influence.

Putin's fierce words were expressed at the All-Russian Congress held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. The conference was organized by the United Russia Party and others. Participants included Putin supporters from all over the country and pro-government Nash, youth Guards etc.

Calling on attendees to support United Russia, Putin said there were some among the State Duma candidates who were trying to restore an oligarchy based on corruption and lies. They want revenge. If these opponents take control of power, Russia may fall back into the chaos and turmoil that occurred before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. They will once again deceive the people and enrich themselves.

He also accused Western countries of interfering in Russia's internal affairs. He said those who oppose us want to see a poor and weak country. They want a disorganized, disorderly, divided Russian society from which they can do their evil deeds behind the scenes. And unfortunately, there are indeed some such forces in Russia who count on the support of foreign foundations and foreign governments instead of relying on their own people. Opposition politicians receive funds from foreign embassies, effectively acting as agents of foreign governments.

To this end, he called on his supporters to vote for the United Russia Party and said that in the next few months, a new leadership will emerge in Russia.

Russian media described the atmosphere in detail before Putin arrived at the venue.

Soviet patriotic songs from the 1970s and 1980s such as "I Serve Russia" and "How Vast My Motherland" were played at the venue. There was a band of young people in the venue, and a band of girls also sang "I want someone like Putin." Many people in the venue waved flags and slogans, and they wrote on the flags that they praised the president and asked Russia to continue to implement Phrases of Putin's policies. Some young girls even had Putin's name written on their cheeks.

When Putin came to power, the stadium erupted with cheers. Putin said that policy continuity must be maintained to enable the country to develop smoothly and securely and to ensure that citizen welfare and national security are not affected by political risks. A vote for United Russia is tantamount to a vote for national stability. Stability and peace will not fall from the sky, they are not yet absolutely guaranteed and will require a fierce struggle at home and abroad.

The West was very sensitive to Putin's speech. The Warwick Post published the headline "Putin links opposition to the West" and the subtitle was "Demonization heats up as election approaches." The report said that combining opposition to Putin and unification The Russian equation of party and betrayal is a staple cliché among the ruling elite. But the tone is growing ahead of the State Duma and presidential elections.

The United Russia party led by Putin will achieve an overwhelming victory according to the opinion polls, but they will not leave any chance to their opponents. The government media’s demonization campaign is getting stronger and stronger, claiming that Russian grassroots activists are in conflict with Western governments, especially the United States. Join forces to plot to overthrow Putin, and bring pro-Western governments to power through street protests, as in Ukraine and Georgia.

The International Herald Tribune called the rally a strange mix of Russian and Soviet-style propaganda and American-style political rallies, and said President Putin had launched his strongest attack on the opposition so far.

The Associated Press said that Putin likened his critics to lackeys fed by foreign funding and accused opposition politicians of receiving funds from foreign countries like wolves scavenging. They believe that Putin's move is intended to ensure that the United Russia party has a powerful position in the State Duma, which is a powerful lever to maintain his influence after he steps down. Reuters said Putin accused foreign governments of funding the opposition to weaken it. Russia used Cold War-style language while also reporting on Russian opposition leader Kasparov, a former world chess champion, calling on Putin's opponents to undermine votes in State Duma elections.

Fan Wubing's visit to Moscow this time was relatively low-key.

Moscow in winter is really freezing. The ice and snow have long been thickly covered on the Volga River. It is much colder than the capital. Since getting off the plane, Fan Wubing, Luo Lin and others They were all wrapped up in thick fur coats, got into the car sent by the special liaison office set up by Fan Investment Group in Moscow, and drove all the way to the liaison office.

Through the car window, Fan Wubing could see some clues. Despite the cold weather, Russian political activities were still going on as usual. As the two major political events approached, the election atmosphere in Moscow was getting stronger, showing that The country is entering an important political period.

Many large outdoor billboards on the road have campaign posters from several major political parties. At the crowded subway entrances and exits, you can always see people wearing their respective party logos handing out leaflets and posting advertisements everywhere. Some anti-Putin parties such as " Small posters of "Another Russia" are plastered all over the subway cars.

Each polling station has posted detailed voting information on the main bulletin board in its area. In Red Square, the huge poster of the United Russia party that is 20 to 30 meters long and 5 to 6 meters high is very eye-catching. From a distance, you can see the huge slogans "Moscow votes for Putin!" and so on.

Just as they were walking slowly, a group of three or four hundred people passed by on the street next to them, carrying banners, holding signs with a large portrait of someone, and shouting slogans, as if they were in the cold weather. The climate has no influence on them at all.

Especially when Fan Wubing saw that some of the little girls participating in the parade actually showed their white thighs, he couldn't help but feel a little pain. Could it be that their physical fitness was so good that they were not afraid of frostbite?

"Are the Russians so active in their electoral activities? The Duma elections are still more than half a year away..." Fan Wubing couldn't help but be surprised when he saw this scene.

Elections are expensive things. If you are in the United States, people who want to participate in presidential elections basically need to be sponsored by consortiums to be able to afford such luxurious political activities. The average investment is probably too much. It takes hundreds of millions of dollars to cope with it.

In a large country with a relatively backward economy like Russia, although you don’t need to spend so much money to participate in elections, the cost of running for the same election will not be a small amount, and there is one thing that makes Fan Wubing feel a little incredible. Could it be that the Russians There is nothing to do. Do you just march with flags every day to express your support for a certain party?

Fan Wubing's subordinate, the head of the liaison office in Moscow, explained to Fan Wubing, "These people are professional fans. Generally speaking, they are professional marchers employed by a certain party or a certain candidate. Their source of income mainly depends on electoral activities, so you can see them on the streets no matter what time of the year. "

After hearing this, Fan Wubing smiled and said, "Haha, it can't be that he is employed by different parties, that would be interesting."

Just imagine, if there is just such a group of people who support Putin today and support the opposition party tomorrow, and their parades are captured on camera for comparison, it will definitely be very good news material.

"Of course it's impossible for this kind of thing to happen..." The person in charge of the liaison office immediately replied with a smile, "Doing this job also requires professional ethics. Besides, the election committees of each party generally have very detailed records. It is impossible to make out With such embarrassment, we always need some more dedicated parade teams, and it is difficult for temporary workers to get involved in this industry. "

Fan Wubing nodded in agreement. No matter what he thinks, as long as there is market demand, it can form an industry. Electioneering has undoubtedly become an industry in Western countries. This is inevitable. No wonder that every year before and after the US election, the media They all look extremely excited, and that's when they can increase ratings by writing just about anything.

Especially when the two groups are competing tit-for-tat for votes, even if reporters randomly find some baseless things to break the news, they will not receive any excessive reactions. Of course, there is a premise for this, that is, this kind of breaking news is not accurate. It will have a negative impact on the candidates.

Otherwise, the other party will still pursue it to the end.