A wizard with federal connections

This is a translation of the article by Meduza, published with permission. To access the original text, follow the link.

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In early June, Vladimir Putin appointed Andrey Turchak as the acting head of the Altai Republic, an economically depressive and sparsely populated region. Sources close to the presidential administration told Meduza that this appointment was seen as a "punishment" for Turchak's continued good relations with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner private military company. Despite this, upon arriving in Altai, Turchak launched an active public campaign and is striving to remain a politician at the federal level. Meduza details how he is achieving this.

Within a month of his appointment, Andrey Turchak visited all ten districts of the republic Altai. In these districts, the politician opened new bridges and roads, promised to complete school renovations quickly, and welcomed guests from Moscow who came to support Turchak in the upcoming elections in early September. Among those who have already visited Altai are the Minister of Transport Roman Starovoit and the former head of the Airborne Forces, State Duma deputy from United Russia, Vladimir Shamanov.

Subsequently, according to Meduza's source close to the Kremlin, Turchak's team “made a serious mistake” by spreading rumors that the former United Russia general secretary would merge the Altai Republic and the Altai Territory.

“It was necessary to win back the demotion — from this perspective, the actions are understandable. However, in national regions, the idea of merging with a larger neighbor is always a sensitive issue. In the case of the Altai Territory and the Altai Republic, there is no such agenda in the [Kremlin’s] plans. But people in the republic began to worry, and Turchak had to deny the rumors. In this instance, he and his team are to blame”, explained the source.

Another source familiar with the situation in the region and with Turchak is confident that despite the serious mistakes of his opponents, the politician will have no trouble in the September elections:

“Andrei has made a significant effort. His campaign is like he’s running for governor of a large U.S. state against a powerful opponent. “My personal Idaho”, he says. He’s active throughout the region, making promises. But the region is small; Turchak is like a lion in the kitchen there [meaning probably that he’s got no room to fulfill his potential – REM]. He’s used to the big stage and wants to ensure that”.

According to this source, the United Russia administration sees “no problems with the election” of Turchak, because “nowadays [in Russian regions] anyone can be elected”. They reminded that five years ago Altai was headed by former Kremlin official Oleg Khorokhordin, who received 56% of the vote with a turnout of 50%. He was poorly received in the region, the media wrote that Khorokhordin had an alcohol addiction, and deputies of the Republican Kurultai even tried to impeach him, though unsuccessfully.

“In comparison with Khorokhordin, who was not particularly interested in the region and was willing to leave as soon as possible, Turchak is seen pretty well. It has to be admitted”, a technologist who worked in the region during several election campaigns noted in a conversation with Meduza.

Turchak's acquaintance is confident that now the politician “really wants to please” both local officials (he even publicly praises them) and ordinary residents of the region. For example, he promised that new vehicles for street cleaning and maintenance would soon be brought to Gorno-Altaisk, the capital of the republic. Turchak referred to it as a "gift from off-budget sources", without specifying what those sources were.

Turchak at the El-Oyyn festival (a national holiday of the Altai people, held every two years). July 2024. Andrei Turchak's Telegram channel

“It is somewhat similar to Abramovich and Chukotka, who also used to buy the region with gifts. Maybe the scale of gifts is not the same as Abramovich's, but Andrei is wealthy, and he has wealthy acquaintances. To give and finance something himself, without asking for it from the budget? No problem," the politician's acquaintance added.

Another source familiar with the situation told Meduza that during the campaign, Turchak is trying to position himself as a "wizard with federal connections" and a "big man" who can resolve any issue in a "small region".

According to a source close to the Kremlin, Turchak is running the campaign himself and “does not use the services of political technologists,” however, he is being assisted by former and current United Russia officials. Among them, the source close to the United Russia party names State Duma deputy Viktor Ignatov and former deputy head of the party's executive committee Anastasia Kostikova.

All of Meduza's sources agree that Turchak will be "soft and fluffy" in Altai only until the elections. After that, a large number of officials from other regions are likely to come to the republic and form Turchak's administrative team. According to Vedomosti, the local government is expected to be headed by State Duma deputy from United Russia Zurab Makiyev, and Turchak's longtime associate, current deputy head of United Russia's executive committee Maksim Zhavoronkov, is also expected to move to the region.

However, according to one of the sources, many people from Turchak's inner circle "are not in a hurry to go to Altai yet": "If Turchak has already been sent there, then his people can still determine their own careers - so far they all hold federal posts. Few people want to work in secondary positions in a small region. The only thing they might count on is Andrei’s return to Moscow. But this is very unlikely to happen in the nearest future."

One of the sources familiar with Turchak is concerned that after September, the politician will start behaving "like a bull in a china shop": "The relationships among the elites in the region are fragile. The population often tries to show defiance to the authorities [during elections]. But for now, the contrast with Khorokhordin is working."

Andrei Turchak, as well as representatives of United Russia and the republican government, did not respond to Meduza's inquiries at the time of publication.