Ahead of Duma elections, Putin's party hands Russian voters gift bags with modest household items
A video from Saransk shows residents receiving gift bags branded with the ruling United Russia party's logo, containing garden gloves, jar lids and other small items ahead of the State Duma elections.
Ahead of Russia's upcoming State Duma elections, a video circulating on social media shows residents of Saransk being handed small gift bags bearing the branding of Vladimir Putin's ruling party, United Russia.
What's inside the bags
In the video, a woman receives one of the bags and inspects its contents — garden gloves, a notepad, a pen, and five lids for sealing jars, typically used for household preserving. The recipient reacts with visible irony, while the person handing out the gift describes the items as useful, singling out the jar lids as particularly good.
Part of a campaign push
Foreign media report that the gift distribution is part of the party's pre-election campaign, aimed at encouraging people to turn out and vote for United Russia. The clear link to the election campaign is reflected in the branded design of the gift set and in the fact that the party had already been actively preparing for the September vote in Saransk and elsewhere in Mordovia.
Online reaction
The jar lids in particular have become one of the most discussed elements of the gift set, with social media users mocking the party's chosen form of pre-election campaigning.
Russia's State Duma elections will take place from September 18 to 20. United Russia is currently the country's ruling party.
