The split first emerged when Sergei Glazyev nominated himself to run for the presidential post in next month’s election, which particularly irritated Rogozin and his supporters. They nominated Viktor Gerashchenko, the former Central Bank chief, to run on the bloc’s ticket and denied their support to Glazyev. Later Gerashchenko was expelled from the race by the Central Election Committee, which said he had failed to comply with electoral regulations. Glazyev is now seen by many as the only candidate capable of denting Vladimir Putin’s re-election campaign.
Russian Regions on Sunday also voted to change its name to Motherland (Rodina), a move seen as an effort to dissociate itself from Glazyev and other bloc members who have given their support to him – Sergei Baburin’s People’s Will Party and part of the Unified Socialist Party of Russia – and to enlist the support of voters who cast their ballots for the bloc in December. Earlier, Glazyev also formed a group called Rodina.
To obtain official registration as the Motherland political party, Russian Regions have to submit amendments to the registration documents to the Justice Ministry in the near future.
Dmitry Rogozin, who was a co-chairman of the RRP together with Sergey Glazyev, addressed the congress on Sunday, saying that he wants to turn the party into a political force upon which the president could rely. He expressed confidence that the party would gain a majority at the parliamentary elections in 2007 and would not hand ''a single committee or commission'' to United Russia then.
Last December United Russia won an overwhelming majority in the lower house and secured the top positions in all the State Duma’s committees and commissions.
After the congress, the former allies met journalists separately. The leader of the new Motherland, Dmitry Rogozin, said he is convinced that nothing which took place at the congress would affect the work of Motherland’s Duma faction. He believes that the Party of Russian Regions has every right to regard the faction as its own because it was that party that initiated the creation of the bloc in the first place.
Rogozin confirmed that the party would support Vladimir Putin in the presidential elections. He added that he did not see any point in attending a joint conference of the former parties which were members of the bloc. Sergei Baburin, leader of the People's Will party, is calling for such a conference.
Baburin voiced his disappointment with the stance taken by Rogozin's supporters, whilst Glazyev emphasised that he was satisfied with the congress's decision to relieve him of his post of co-chairman. He said that he had voted for this decision together with other deputies and called the situation a ''farce'' connected to the presidential campaign. Glazyev accused Rogozin of causing a schism, calling it ''collective suicide'' and predicted a marginal status for the party.
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