Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 855 - 828: Three-Way Melee_2

Chapter 855: Chapter 828: Three-Way Melee_2

Now, with the strong support from the Kremlin behind him...

Is there really no need to worry?

Of course, these concerns had been discussed within the Kremlin as well.

Therefore, Puding remained quiet while Gavriil answered Grezlov’s question.

"There’s no need to worry because Misha is one of our own!

Moreover, for quite a long time, he won’t be able to harbor any greater ambitions.

So even if his power grows rapidly, it won’t backlash against us; there is no need for concern,"

Gavriil said leisurely.

In fact, Grezlov understood all the reasons Gavriil had mentioned, but he was still worried...

He couldn’t articulate a reason; maybe it was what one calls a sixth sense!

Yet, in front of Puding, he couldn’t justify his feelings over facts and simply shook his head, dropping the subject.

Because Grezlov also understood that in terms of relationships and trust, perhaps in the eyes of the Kremlin, Misha was now ranked even before himself!

Since the moment Misha and Rossiyana got officially engaged...

Jokingly, his alliance with the Kremlin was only based on shared interests—merely a reliable partner.

But for Misha, he was about to become the "son-in-law"!

So, understanding his place, Grezlov tactfully changed the subject and started talking about some recent amusing events.

"You must have heard about it; all members of Khodorkovsky’s faction have gone down to the cities lately, giving speeches and handing out black bread like money means nothing to them. Now everyone is saying that Khodorkovsky and his group are running a black bread campaign," he said.

How could Puding and Gavriil not know!

Khodorkovsky was a potential rival for the next year.

While they weren’t very optimistic about Khodorkovsky causing any significant stir, the Kremlin side was not overlooking him.

One may contemptuously disregard on a strategic level, but tactically, utmost attention is required!

So every move by Khodorkovsky and his faction was under Kremlin scrutiny.

Speaking of this "black bread campaign," both Puding and Gavriil laughed, of course they knew!

This was the new campaign strategy introduced by Khodorkovsky’s faction.

Every faction would conduct roadshows in various state electoral districts to rally votes, and it was common for financially stronger election personnel to distribute gifts to voters to create a favorable impression.

Of course, no amount of talking could compare to the solid reality of giving more gifts to the voters.

When Wang Ye ran for a parliamentary seat in the Duma, he handed out Vodka, covering every adult in the entire state, a grand gesture indeed!

But that was possible partly because Chukotka had a relatively small population, and Wang Ye, with his significant wealth, could afford it.

Such grand gestures were not common.

Typically, other congressmen would hand out small gifts like candy and eggs during election campaigns, which didn’t cost much.

But recently, Khodorkovsky’s faction came up with a "black bread campaign" that caught everyone’s attention.

They would buy one or more bakeries in a certain electoral district to produce only one type of bread, the dalieba black bread that Russians regularly eat.

Then during roadshow speeches, they promised to give every voter who supported them a bread coupon daily, which allowed them to collect a dalieba for free at the designated bakery...

In Russia, the dalieba is like the steamed bun in the north of China, a staple food, indispensable for every family, a household necessity!

The price was not high, a dalieba usually cost about six Rubles, which was around 0.2 US dollars, or two CNY...

And these dalieba were quite large, enough to feed a family for one or even two meals.

This was no small endeavor!

It may not seem like much for one dalieba, but the costs add up with the sheer quantity and duration of the giveaway!

If in one of their "main battleground" states there were two million people, and one million voted for Khodorkovsky’s faction members, that would be one million votes, meaning one million bread coupons to be given out every day, a value of two hundred thousand US dollars!

That would amount to seventy million US dollars over a year!

Of course, this is calculated based on the retail price of black bread.

If we calculate it based on the cost price of mass production, that would still be twenty million US dollars in cost.

In other words, the Khodorkovsky faction planned to spend twenty million US dollars just to obtain one seat in the Duma!

For fifty seats, that would be one billion US dollars...

And this is just the cost of distributing black bread, not to mention the costs of election promotion. It is expected that acquiring each seat will cost up to twenty-five or even thirty million US dollars!

This is not just about being extravagant, it’s downright madness!

Under normal circumstances, other factions wouldn’t spend more than two million US dollars for an election campaign for one Duma’s parliamentary seat.

Unless the candidate themselves are very wealthy and willing to add more of their own money to the campaign funds or have the means to attract political donations, two million US dollars would usually be the cap.

That seems to be the tacitly accepted line for campaign financing.

Yet, Khodorkovsky just blew that line out of the water, raising it by more than tenfold!

But it must be said, such an election strategy is very effective and has other factions feeling extremely anxious.

Although everyone jokes about this ’black bread’ campaign, deep down they feel envious...

If their own faction had that kind of money, who wouldn’t want to use this simple and effective method!

Luckily, the Khodorkovsky faction chose to focus their main battlefield on the Moscow State and St. Petersburg electoral districts, which are different from Wang Ye faction’s influence zone.

Otherwise, Wang Ye would have a headache too.

Although in terms of wealth, he might not be less rich than Khodorkovsky.

But in terms of cash flow, he is far behind!

Others may not know, but Wang Ye is well aware that Khodorkovsky’s accounts are lying with dozens of billions of US dollars in cash!

More importantly, Khodorkovsky is really willing to spend on this election.

After all, he is not investing much in business anymore, and with so much cash on hand, he naturally doesn’t mind spending it.

Although Wang Ye’s net worth might be higher, his business layout is not yet complete, and he still needs major investments in many areas, limiting the money available for his election campaign.

So, if he had the choice, Wang Ye would definitely not want to compete against Khodorkovsky!

Fortunately, the two main battlefields chosen by the Khodorkovsky faction are Moscow and St. Petersburg, the two largest electoral districts with the most concentrated populations, most developed economies, and naturally, the most votes.

In contrast, the electoral districts chosen for Wang Ye’s faction are slightly away from these hotspots.

It’s not his headache, anyway.

After all, everyone knows that the Moscow electoral district is the traditional influence zone of the Second Faction.

And the St. Petersburg electoral district belongs to The First Faction, which is also where the Kremlin had its start!

Let them engage in a three-way battle; Wang Ye does not want to get involved...

......

"This matter is still worth paying attention to. Giving Khodorkovsky’s faction forty or fifty Duma seats is not a big deal, even a few more doesn’t matter, but they absolutely must not get more than eighty seats! Otherwise, the next Duma will be in chaos!"

Puding said meaningfully.

Gavriil quickly nodded in agreement, "That’s right! A few dozen seats won’t make much of a wave, but once the number surpasses a hundred, it means that in the next Duma, no faction will be able to have an absolute advantage, not even us. If we want to pass any bill, the number of factions we need to communicate and coordinate with just increases."

The number of seats held by The First Faction is bound to decline next year, even drastically!

This is within everyone’s expectations, and even the Kremlin is quietly facilitating this.

Wang Ye’s faction is expected to win more seats, at least a hundred!

This too, is a consensus reached by all, with the Kremlin again working behind the scenes.

And now the current Second Faction, also known as the "Moscow System," will see its strength diminished, with its seats carved up by other factions.

This is what Wang Ye and The First Faction have agreed upon, and it is also the juicy piece of meat that Wang Ye has his eye on.

Of course, a significant part of the seats that the Khodorkovsky faction will obtain also comes from the Second Faction.

After all, their key electoral districts overlap with the influence zone of the Moscow Faction...