Those who work voted for us

Pravda, September 22-23, 2026 —

A press conference was held at the TASS news agency, during which the CPRF leaders summarized the results of the recent United Voting Day. Participants included Gennady Zyuganov, Chairman of the CPRF Central Committee and leader of the CPRF faction in the State Duma; Yuri Afonin, First Deputy Chairman of the CPRF Central Committee; Dmitry Novikov, Deputy Chairman of the CPRF Central Committee; Maria Drobot and Georgy Kamnev, members of the CPRF Central Committee Presidium; and Alexander Yushchenko, Secretary of the CPRF Central Committee.

  The leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Gennady Zyuganov, gave his main assessments of the past election campaign:

“Today, we’re not just summing up the results; we’re also charting our path forward. I’ve participated in many election campaigns, but this is my first time in one like this. It’s taking place in a war-torn environment. Just yesterday, there were 1,600 drone bombs over the Moscow region, and they could have hit anyone. Nearly fifty were shot down over my native Oryol region; they even reached my home district, where our party received 32% of the vote. In war, truth is the first to perish, I’ve said this many times, and elections are, above all, about a truthful assessment, an honest and courageous team, worthy competition, and a full-fledged dialogue based on the Program.”

We long ago heeded President Vladimir Putin’s call for maximum social cohesion, the development of cutting-edge technologies, and the achievement of global development rates. Our Victory Program was published during the elections, with a circulation of nearly 100 million copies. We reached every region with it, without exception. I alone held 107 meetings, from major factories like the Kirov Plant to the Academy of Sciences and leading universities.

What’s the main takeaway from this election campaign? First of all, I’d like to thank the citizens of this country who actively responded and went to the polls.

Who voted for us? The highest results are achieved in places where leading scientists, specialists, workers, and work collectives work. Those who voted for us are those who work, who think, who understand that something needs to change. And our Program is precisely suited to them as a tangible guide.

Let me give you an example of how an election campaign can be conducted. We invited United Russia to a full-fledged dialogue and held nearly a hundred roundtables in the State Duma. We insisted that they sit down and, during debates, discuss all 10 steps to the dignified life that our Program and our team guaranteed to virtually every citizen. Unfortunately, they declined.

But we showed a real-life example of how this can be done in the Republic of Khakassia and in my region, Oryol Oblast. There, voters weren’t forced into columns or herded into mass voting. They did everything to ensure the best harvest in the world. And this could be scaled up to practically all regions. But even today, when farmers have grown a brilliant harvest, their grain hasn’t been sold at a reasonable price. They can’t organize a full-scale sowing campaign or buy new equipment.

In the Oryol region, they did everything possible to fully preserve the electoral process, holding a May Day demonstration and a labor collective presentation. And the streets were open to full dialogue, despite raids almost daily. This is an area of ​​heightened attention for Nazis and Banderites, as the Oryol and Belgorod regions had previously broken the back of the fascist beast.

The turnout there was quite realistic, and no one is surprised by that. No one was trying to inflate the result. United Russia got 42%, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) 24%, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) 8.7%, Just Russia almost 9%, New People 8.8%, and the Pensioners party swallowed up almost 4%, because that’s a completely false narrative, dreamed up by Surkov, but it’s still being pushed through the administration today.

Valentin Konovalov, who was number two on our list, set a similar example in the Republic of Khakassia. I said, “Valentin Olegovich, show an example of respect for people. Let everyone meet, discuss, show everyone—don’t suppress anyone.” They got a decent result: United Russia got just over 40%, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) 26%, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) 9%, New People (New People) almost 9%, and so on.

This is the real result of the elections that took place. No one coerced anyone. The counting was done fairly. Those who were supposed to receive the protocols received them.

But in Voronezh alone, a city of a million, every single one of our observers was expelled. I’ve never seen such arbitrary behavior in an election as happened in the largest city, where one of the leaders of United Russia was leading this election campaign. Does he think this result will satisfy anyone? No, because these are illegitimate elections that should be a source of shame, not pride.

It’s crucial for us to understand today: to win, we need more than just a united society. We need a real program to support high technology. Our comrades can tell you how they voted for our party and our program at the country’s leading scientific centers. Because we held working meetings there, and people were truly familiar with this program.

But everyone must understand: the main challenges and threats that weigh heavily on everyone’s shoulders have not gone away. We have repeatedly proposed to United Russia that it adopt the program to support large families introduced by N.A. Ostanina. Six bills are pending before the Duma. But they have rejected them all. We invited them to the Lenin State Farm, where every second family has many children, everyone receives free education and decent medical care, and the salary there is 170,000 rubles. But they refused to do so.

We’ll have to solve this problem, because in 1991, Russia’s population was 149 million, and today it’s 146 million—not a single increase in 30 years. This is a tragedy. This problem must be solved, and as quickly as possible.

Equipment wear and tear. We’re proud of our oil and gas industry. The country rests on a million kilometers of pipelines of various sizes. But 60% of them are worn out and need replacing. Instead of investing, they’re imposing such high utility rates on people, rejecting our proposal to cap them at 10% of family income. And what’s the result? Starting October 1st, they’ll hike prices by another 10-22%. Is this what citizens voted for? Did they empower United Russia to do this? No, not last time, not this time. But the rates are already inflated! I’ve lived in Moscow for over 40 years, and they sent me a bill for 30,000 rubles, even though my house has long been in need of major repairs.

A social divide. It exists, and we can’t turn a blind eye to it. Half the country lives on 30,000-35,000 rubles, and the price of vegetables has risen by 40% in a year. Meanwhile, the oligarchs have amassed a trillion and a half rubles in just six months, yet there’s no money to support farmers—to buy grain from them at a reasonable price—or to support large families. A society like this is bound to have a divide. We must do everything we can to eliminate it, but that requires a socially oriented policy, which, unfortunately, we don’t have.

Regarding migration, L.I. Kalashnikov drafted 19 laws on this issue. He ran in the elections in his hometown of Tolyatti, but eight people ran against him. He won, but why did they do that? They should have adopted his platform and supported it. He’s done 10 times more than they have for the Samara Region and the entire country. He’s been received by presidents and leaders; he’s one of the most professional and knowledgeable people. But no one wanted to compete fairly with him. We had to send an entire army to every polling station to defend our results.

And the decline in personnel has become so severe that it’s sometimes frightening. I taught mathematics and philosophy myself, and I can see where things are heading. Our “Education for All” program, our unique Soviet-Russian school, our genuine support for the young men who are fighting—this is something any party can be proud of. Therefore, we believe that, overall, we have accomplished our goal.

But when they tell me United Russia has won, I reply: in a war, no party can win. Only the people, a new, highly effective course, and courageous policies can win. We will have to unite everyone and work for victory. This is the main demand of the President’s Address. Our team is ready, and we will implement it from the very first days of the Duma session. We have everything we need: unique experience, political will, a strong team, and successful teams, enterprises, and regions. We can and should learn a lot from them.”