Yakutia's Communists Gear Up for the "People's Candidate": Who's in the Running?
Yakutia's Communist Party bets on public vote to revive election hopes
YAKUTIA.INFO. This week, Yakutia—like the rest of Russia—will launch the Communist Party's (CPRF) People's Candidate project, a counterpart to United Russia's primaries. The initiative is a preliminary vote to determine the party's nominee for the autumn Duma elections.
While the official list of People's Candidate contenders has yet to be announced, some names have already surfaced. Last week, reports emerged that one of the frontrunners is current State Duma deputy Pyotr Ammosov of the CPRF. Sources close to Yakutia.Info confirmed that Ammosov's candidacy has been approved in Moscow.
A second publicly named figure—though unconfirmed—is Ernst Berezhkin, once a well-known but now largely forgotten politician. However, Vyacheslav Kulichkin, first secretary of the Yakutia CPRF regional committee, dismissed the speculation in comments to the media. "Berezhkin's nomination and endorsement must come from the party's Central Committee," Kulichkin stated. "I can say definitively that his candidacy has neither been discussed nor considered."
The third recognizable name in the mix is Ayaan Vasilyev, a Yakutsk City Duma deputy and director of School No. 26.
At present, only two figures from the public political sphere are linked to the People's Candidate project. While Vasilyev maintains a visible public presence, Ammosov has rarely made headlines in Yakutia since his 2021 election. Though he occasionally issues statements, his record as a federal lawmaker—particularly in defending voters' rights—remains largely unseen. Journalist Vitaly Obedin argues that the Yakutia CPRF's worst possible move ahead of the elections would be to renominate Ammosov—"a charisma-free figure who has all but severed ties with the republic since taking office." Obedin's critique carries weight: he suggests that Ammosov's 2021 victory was largely a fluke, as other parties lacked strong, recognizable leaders at the time. This vacuum bolstered the CPRF's credibility, with voters delivering the party 18.93% nationwide and a striking 35.15% in Yakutia—edging out United Russia by 1.9% (33.22%).
That was the peak of Communist support in the republic, followed by a sharp decline. Just two years later, in the 2023 elections to the Il Tumen, the CPRF in Yakutia suffered a dramatic setback, securing only 13.11% of the vote—losing to New People, who took 14.09% (a stark contrast to the CPRF's 35.15% in 2021). The party's candidate for head of the republic, the late Viktor Gubarev, received a mere 10.39% of the vote, compared to 75.81% for Aisen Nikolayev of United Russia.
The party's current standing in Yakutia is difficult to assess. However, according to the latest VCIOM polls, the CPRF, with 10.3%, ranks only fourth nationwide—behind United Russia (29.7%), New People (12.3%), and even the LDPR (10.5%). This marks the party's worst performance to date.
"Look at how the Communists' numbers have plummeted. Years of echoing their political opponents under the justifying mantra of 'we must consolidate now' have taken their toll. The LDPR's sudden surge is baffling, while New People's gains were entirely predictable," noted Vitaly Obedin in his Telegram channel.
The party also lacks any standout political achievements—or, as political strategists call them, success stories. The only recent victory worth mentioning was preserving the name of Lenin Square, which local authorities had attempted to change. There were minor successes in the 2025 autumn elections, where the CPRF secured seats in districts like Aldan and Churapcha.
The sole glimmer of hope is the declining national support for their main rival, United Russia, which suggests potential for protest votes. The question, however, is who will ultimately harness that protest sentiment.
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