Kremlin raises United Russia's election targets even as the party's ratings fall

Russia's Presidential Administration has raised the KPI targets used to evaluate regional officials based on the ruling United Russia party's election performance. In regions with average support for the authorities, the new target is 47% — a reversal from July, when the figure had been cut from 50% to 45%.

In June, the business daily Vedomosti reported that United Russia's nationwide KPI had already been lowered from 55% to 50%. Sources told Meduza at the time that the cut reflected falling ratings for both the party and the president, driven by a gasoline shortage, rising prices, and public fatigue with the war.

Now, according to two deputy governors, a political strategist who works with regional authorities, and a source close to the Presidential Administration, the targets have been sharply raised again. In regions with average support, the KPI rose from 45% to 47%, while in regions with a "higher degree of mobilization" it rose from 50% to 52-53%. Nationwide, United Russia is now expected to score more than 50%.

Sources describe the move as illogical, since targets typically fall along with ratings rather than rise. To meet the new figures, officials say they will need to intensify so-called "corporate mobilization" — pressure on employees of state-linked organizations to vote, often organized through designated "mobilization foremen" at large workplaces.

Sources also say the higher KPI effectively requires more outright election fraud, which they refer to euphemistically as "correction." Officials report facing pressure during conference calls with presidential envoy offices to deliver strong results.

Sources tie the new demands to Vladimir Putin's active personal role in the campaign. He has toured several regions and met with the top five candidates on United Russia's list. On August 22, at the party's congress, Putin spoke of the "unity of the front and the rear" and voiced confidence that the election results would confirm the state's stability. A source close to the Presidential Administration admits that raising the KPI under current conditions is "illogical and wrong," but says the priority now is ensuring Putin is satisfied with the outcome.