Slutsky's visit to Kirov: from a private plane — to Slobodskoy

      Judging by the draft "Program of Stay," the successor to Vladimir Zhirinovsky in Kirov has a very busy schedule. If this document is to be believed, Leonid Slutsky is not flying into Kirov just any which way, but from Vnukovo-3 — the largest business aviation center in Russia and Europe. VIP terminals, a heliport, lounges, duty-free, meeting rooms, a secured perimeter, private and special flights — everything proper for serious routes. In other words, not flying economy with Pobeda.

      The first thing Mr. Slutsky will do in Kirov is visit the Za Vyatka charity foundation, albeit for only 20 minutes, to take part in sending humanitarian aid to the zone of the special military operation. Rumor has it that this "sacramental" act will be attended not only by the region’s "first person" but also by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kirov region — Bishop Mark.

      Next — 40 minutes on the road to Slobodskoy. According to the forecast, despite twenty-degree frost, no snowfalls are expected, so the region’s head will not, figuratively speaking, fall flat on his face. In our case — into the snow.

      In Slobodskoy, Leonid Eduardovich, if the preliminary visit program is to be believed, will meet with local residents.

      One can assume the choice of location is not accidental, because LDPR is, to put it mildly, not doing well in Slobodskoy. If one looks at the political map of the Kirov region without illusions, Slobodskoy is a United Russia stronghold. From the point of view of electoral geography, this territory has long been demarcated, consolidated and formally closed to experiments.

      That is why the political scene looks somewhat absurd and at the same time telling: a United Russia governor meets the federal leader of LDPR — a party of the systemic opposition. In other political systems this would look almost like a joke. It is hard to imagine, for example, a Republican ceremonially receiving a Democrat on his key territory in the United States. In the Kirov region — please.

      United Russia remains the dominant party in the region. However, at the level of regional politics it has long ceased to be about conflict and is instead about careful, calibrated coexistence. The figure of LDPR’s coordinator — the former A Just Russia member and now liberal-democrat Pavel Dorofeev — looks particularly organic in this configuration. In backstage talk he is increasingly linked with ambitions for a Duma seat. Not radical and not confrontational, he is perceived more as a comfortable participant in the regional political process than as an oppositionist in the classical sense.

      In that logic, Slobodskoy becomes not merely a waypoint but a symbol of a new configuration: an electoral district closed off in practice but politically open for showcasing federal resources. Thus it is hard to call the visit the beginning of a fight for votes — rather, it is a demonstration that party boundaries in contemporary Russian politics are conditional when it comes to status, agreements and future positioning.

      In that sense the meeting of the LDPR leader with a United Russia governor is not an exception but an illustration of a basic principle: Russia really is a land of opportunity. Where private jets land on territories of "other" parties, and the systemic opposition calmly drinks tea in United Russia’s fiefdom.

      Residents of Slobodskoy are allotted 40 minutes in the draft program. The regional head, whom the federal politician will visit, gets an hour and a half, including lunch. After that Slutsky will be shown a microloan office that has turned into an LDPR headquarters with a shop. We hope Slutsky will be given a T‑shirt with Slutsky on it. There is a very tight timing for that — only 20 minutes, so probably without a fitting.

      Next the politician will be at "Strana Kart" — the family business of the Tyrikins. Olga Tyrikina is a current deputy of the Legislative Assembly from LDPR, Yuri Tyrikin is co-owner of IT companies and head of the regional branch of Delovaya Rossiya. At the production site the federal guest will likely be shown how sanctions have been successfully integrated into the business model with Chinese components. So it would be unsurprising if, at the federal level, it will still be some time before they notice how those who "missed the tide" gradually go to work for those very successful defenders of business who have upgraded to brand-new G‑Wagons.

      After this meeting (40 minutes on the schedule) the politician will meet with the regional branch’s activists, and then have dinner with the business community. Two hours. Reasonable enough: as is well known, meetings with entrepreneurs are always more interesting than with the residents of Slobodskoy. How many course changes there will be at the Alfa restaurant, owned by the Kirov SSK — an A Just Russia stronghold — is unknown. Nor can we confirm or deny rumors that tickets were sold for the meeting of the best of the best. Political tourism, as known, also requires investment.

      At 18:50 Leonid Slutsky is scheduled to head to Pobedilovo, from where he will be transported back to Moscow, presumably on a private plane.

      In the end, the question remains: how will this help the party members themselves? Olga Tyrikina, active on social media, can steer the electorate of "entitled mothers" among Kirov women even without Pavel Dorofeev or Slutsky. Pavel Dorofeev will get onto the Duma ballot anyway and, who knows, with enough funds he might take the mandate.

      Note that, according to information on JETVIP’s website, Slutsky’s flight at the very minimum rates could cost at least 1,500 euros per hour (for distances up to 1,000 km).

      Recall that after the 2021 Legislative Assembly elections the opposition initially had 16 mandates: 2 — CPRF, 3 — LDPR, 9 — A Just Russia, and 2 mandates each went to the Russian Party of Pensioners — For Social Justice and to New People. For comparison: in 2016 the Kirov opposition had 17 mandates: 4 — CPRF, 8 — LDPR, 5 — A Just Russia.