Miners rushed to the top of political Olympus

In the run-up to the elections for the State Duma of the Russian Federation and the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk Region, the Sverdlovsk Region Election Commission with the participation of higher educational institutions organized an interuniversity role-playing game "Elections of People’s Deputies". The role play was a simulation of a real election process where student teams were to create their own political parties and present them to the voters.

The Game was held in three stages. Students played the role of politicians and struggled for the votes: they developed a strategic image of a team-party, a program of a "political" party, technologies of an election campaign, forms and methods of political agitation. And on Friday, October 28, the Palace of Youth hosted the final of the Game where the teams presented their parties. The social and political issues were submitted to the judgement of the audience in a genre filled with creative energy of the young, scintillating humor of the students putting spectators in a wonderful mood.

Nine higher educational institutions of Yekaterinburg including the Ural State Mining University, the Ural State Pedagogical University, the Ural State University of Forestry, the Ural State Medical Academy, Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, the Ural State Law Academy, the Ural State University of Railway Transport, the Ural Federal University and the Ural State University of Economics took part in the Game. Higher educational establishments presented political parties with their ideology: each team showed a video presentation and a costume performance. Students joked and talked seriously - did their best to get the votes. Students of the Ural Mining University presented the party "Putyovaya Rossiya (Sensible Russia)." They voiced the suggestions on how to raise the quality of life in the country to a higher level, and presented their program. The audience burst into alternating cheers and applause. Judging by approving roar it was clear that the "voters" liked the strategy of the miners. According to the results of voting our guys won in the category for the best election program.

Obviously, real politicians could not disregard such an event. Students were addressed with the words of welcome by the head of the Sverdlovsk Region Election Commission, Vladimir Mostovshchikov, and the head of administration of the Sverdlovsk Region Governor, Vyacheslav Lashmankin, who said, "Some people believe that in the upcoming elections everything is already predetermined, but it is not so. Our future depends on how active young people will be today. These games make people think about their choice and their position as well as understand what they really want. Every presentation contained formulated policy statements, political platforms. And this ability to express oneself, to make demands for the government, to provide vision of the future is a great benefit from such games."

It is known that young people in Russia are not a very active electorate. But on Friday it became clear that our students are initiative and active striving to reach the top of the political Olympus and concerned about the fate of Russia.