Young Guard Told to “Vote With Your Rifle”

The Vladivostok “Young Guard” of the United Russia party will conduct a “regional youth sport-political competition entitled ‘Vote With Your Rifle!’” as reported by RIA PrimaMedia. The event will take place in two stages.

The first is a paintball game called “If You Want to Vote, Learn to Shoot!” The second is a live-round paramilitary exercise with the stunning title of “Vote With Your Rifle.”

Each participant will be given the rules: “with the help of your rifle and ammo, vote for one of the enemies of the Russian people. The foremost enemy of the people will be announced based on the candidate, whose image will remain with the most traces of gunshots.”

It’s necessary to add that the press-secretary of United Russia’s youth wing in the Primorsk Krai, Maya Shalunova, announced that the targets will symbolize “not people, but social problems.” “We specially made this press release to intrigue people. In actuality there won’t be specific people, as some may have thought, representatives of other political parties. In reality it’s not like that.”

Unfortunately, Ms. Shalunova’s statements do little to change the image of the event as an military exercise in state loyalty.