255 State Duma deputies from United Russia today supported the draft resolution submitted by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation on the appeal of the Duma to the President of Russia regarding the recognition of the LPR and the DPR. And the same 255 United Russia members in a few minutes supported a similar draft resolution, but already submitted by the EP.
It was thanks to the votes of the United Russia deputies (they are in the vast majority in parliament) that the project prepared by the communists won the rating vote. Interlocutors Znak.com in the Communist Party were surprised by the support from United Russia. At the same time, some United Russia deputies assured that the voting in the faction was free, and none of the faction leaders insisted on supporting the United Russia project exclusively, others carefully noted that “there were no freemen”, and the decision to support the CPRF project was lowered to the EP faction this morning. However, who was the initiator of such a decision, the interlocutors of Znak.com among United Russia did not specify. The source of our publication, close to the presidential administration, said that the instruction came from the Kremlin.
16 deputies opposed the draft resolution of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, among them two United Russia members – Lev Kovpak and Ivan Solodovnikov (both supported the United Russia project). Not a single deputy dared to vote against the United Russia option.
It is curious that in the order of the Duma on February 15 (available to Znak.com), which each United Russia receives before the plenary session, opposite the draft resolution prepared by the Communist Party, in the column “the position of the United Russia faction” stands “against”. According to the interlocutor of Znak.com, this column reflects the position of the presidium of the faction. “The decision taken by the presidium of the faction [ЕР] – this is the law for United Russia … Whoever violates this decision violates factional discipline, for which he may lose his place not only in the faction, but in the party, ”says the source of our publication.
However, according to the deputy of the State Duma from United Russia Yevgeny Revenko, it is “simply incorrect” to talk about the violation of factional discipline. “Our faction did not decide on a consolidated vote. Each deputy voted as he saw fit. Many colleagues voted for both options at once – both for United Russia and for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, since the vote was rating. In fact, both projects are about the same thing, we have demonstrated unanimity in our desire to protect people in Donbas,” Revenko explained.
Recall that today the deputies of the State Duma approved a draft resolution of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation on the appeal of the State Duma to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the need to recognize the LNR and the DNR. The draft resolutions of the United Russia and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation are essentially identical. The document, prepared by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, states that Russia needs to recognize the LPR and DPR as “independent, independent, sovereign states.” In the EP project – the same thing.