44 candidates as of April 1: who has joined the primaries

      Candidate registration will last until April 30, so the current list is merely a record of the current state of affairs. Before the voting (May 25–31), many applications may be withdrawn, and the final configuration will not be established until the stage of behind-the-scenes agreements is completed.

      Who has joined in the second wave

      The first lists were young and largely technical. In the second wave of the primaries, those who have long been established in regional politics registered.

      Roman Beresnev, chairman of the Legislative Assembly, is running for the Orichevsky district No. 10. He has no competitors. Not yet among those wishing to run from the ruling party. However, this is not a battle, but a procedure: the speaker must go through the primaries for the party to nominate him. However, if sources are to be believed, it is quite possible that there will be a rotation of speakers in the newly formed regional parliament.

      Irina Morozova, deputy chairman of the Legislative Assembly, chief physician of hospital No. 2, is running for the 22nd district. Here’s a surprise: she has competitors, including Sergey Yudnikov, a medical specialist from Paul Hartmann LLC (a German medical device supplier).

      Alexander Utkin (Omutninsky district, financial director of OMZ) and Nikolai Shabalin (Nolinsky district, acting rector of the Vyatka Agricultural Academy) are current deputies who have also joined the campaign. Their districts are uncontested, representing groups of influence — metallurgists and agrarians.

      Among the 44 candidates, there are at least 10 current deputies of the Legislative Assembly. This is classic: the party passes through the primaries those who already have a mandate to legitimize their re-election.

      Where there is real competition and where there is technical plurality

      Of the 30 single-member districts, more than one candidate is registered in 14. However, external competition does not always mean real struggle.

      The 20th district remains the main intrigue. Here, the current deputy, chief physician of the emergency hospital Sogomon Arakelyan, and a representative of the Selmash factory, Yevgeny Domrachev, have come together. Both are not random figures, with different support groups. If both make it to the voting, the outcome will depend on whether the administrative resource can outweigh the factory mobilization.

      The 22nd district is the most populous: four candidates. In addition to Morozova and Yudnikov, there are also Alexander Luchinin (driver at Vyatavtodor JSC, a government-controlled entity) and Ksenia Sedykh (non-partisan). This number of applications could be an attempt to create "controlled" competition for Morozova or a reflection of real bargaining between different groups of influence.

      However, it can be assumed that this also reflects internal, rather interpersonal, relations between Morozova and the first deputy chairman Dmitry Kurdyumov, who is among the key figures influencing the campaign's configuration.

      The 23rd district — from three to five. The well-known "trinity from VyatGU" and the "fourth" Bezdenezhny have been joined by Darya Sovetova. Five people in one district is clearly excessive, and most of them are likely technical candidates.

      The 25th, 27th, and 29th districts have also seen the emergence of second and third candidates, but the competition appears to be more symbolic.

      Is the "team of doctors" returning?

      Four doctor candidates are entering the primaries, effectively forming a "team" of healthcare leaders. These are Sogomon Arakelyan — chief physician of the emergency medical hospital, current deputy of the Legislative Assembly (20th district), Nikita Solomenikov — head of the ultrasound department at the Kirov Clinical Diagnostic Center, current deputy of the Legislative Assembly (21st district), Irina Morozova — chief physician of hospital No. 2, deputy chairman of the Legislative Assembly, deputy for three convocations (22nd district), and Vadim Ralnikov — chief physician of the Kirov Regional Clinical Hospital, honored physician of the Russian Federation, current deputy of the Kirov City Duma (30th district).

      Three of them are already deputies of the Legislative Assembly and are running for re-election. Ralnikov is the only one who is not yet in the Legislative Assembly. However, he has already had an attempt: in 2021, he ran for the Legislative Assembly in the 23rd district but came in second, losing to the candidate from "Fair Russia," Tatyana Yerdyakova (28% to 40%). He did not pass then. Now he is given another district — the 30th, where he has no competitors. This can be seen as "compensation" for his past defeat and a guarantee that this time the regional-level medical leader will receive a mandate.

      Behind this medical contingent stands a figure who is not participating in the primaries but traditionally forms the "medical wing" in the parliament — the first deputy chairman of the government, Dmitry Kurdyumov, curator of the social block. It seems he is deliberately gathering a "team of doctors" — a strategy he has already practiced in previous elections. In 2021, it was his protégés (Arakelyan, Solomenikov, Morozova) who entered the Legislative Assembly, forming a recognizable "medical wing."

      Now Ralnikov is joining them — a figure who did not pass last time but is apparently expected to solidify the presence of healthcare at the regional level this time.

      However, it is telling that even within the "medical block," the approach to different candidates varies. For the chief physician of the city hospital No. 2, Irina Morozova, in the 22nd district, a "competitive" environment has been created: two representatives of the medical business (Yudnikov and Sedykh) and a candidate from a government-controlled entity have registered alongside her. Meanwhile, for the chief physician of the regional hospital, Vadim Ralnikov, in the 30th district, there are no competitors.

      This may indicate different statuses: Ralnikov is a figure of a higher level, his nomination is so tightly coordinated that even the appearance of an alternative is unnecessary. Alternatively, the 22nd district has become a platform for testing some intra-elite combination, where Morozova must "overcome" technical sparring partners.

      What’s next?

      Registration continues until April 30. In the coming weeks, some candidates are likely to withdraw, and new applications may appear. The final configuration will not become clear until the stage of behind-the-scenes agreements is completed. For now, we can state:

      - the list of candidates has grown to 44, with current deputies, including the speaker, joining — the party is preparing for the elections in a routine manner;

      - real competition will likely be limited to the 20th district. In other cases, multiple applications are a technical or symbolic story;

      - Kurdyumov is gathering a "team of doctors" — a recognizable group that has already worked in the previous convocation. Yudnikov's presence in the 22nd district is not a coincidence, but it is also not a sign of real struggle. This can be assumed to be an element of intra-elite distribution, which only emphasizes that even within the "medical block," there are nuances.

      We will summarize later. For now, we record the interim situation. And, despite April 1, we assure you: this is not a joke. The primaries are a serious process, even if some of its participants appear to be... technical.