Communists from Sochi linked pressure on party veterans to agreements with the authorities.

The Presidium of the Control and Auditing Commission of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation for Krasnodar Krai expelled Inna Pagayeva, head of the Sochi branch, from the party. She sent an appeal to the party leader and the Central Committee, demanding that the decision be declared illegal. Communists are convinced that this is a "cleansing of the ranks" before the elections.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," a group of Sochi communists elected Inna Pagayeva as their leader, but some of their fellow party members disagreed with the decision. The regional branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation declared the decision invalid. As a result, a split occurred within the Sochi Communist Party, with two de facto leadership centers now operating.

Pressure on the opposition within the Sochi branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) on the eve of the elections culminated in the expulsion of local branch leader Inna Pagayeva from the party.

On June 18, Secretary of the Sochi City CPRF Committee Inna Pagayeva, elected by a majority of Sochi Communists, received a decision from the regional CPRF committee declaring her expulsion from the party and filed an appeal to Moscow. She reported this to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The regional branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation accused Pagayeva of destabilization

According to the official Resolution of the Presidium of the Control and Audit Commission (CAC) of the Krasnodar Regional Branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation dated June 11, 2026, the punishment of a reprimand was deemed "unreasonably lenient" and inappropriate for the severity of the offense. The document, signed by the commission's chairman, Yevgeny Rashchepkin, and deputy chair, Anastasia Kozhushkova (a copy of the document is in the possession of the "Caucasian Knot"), asserts that Pagayeva committed "rude, insulting statements against fellow party members, unauthorized withdrawal from the elections after registration, disruption of the work of party bodies, as well as actions aimed at disrupting the reporting and election Conference, pressure on delegates, disobedience to the Presidium and the Chairperson, and the organization of 'groupism'."

The regional leadership insists that Pagayeva's actions caused "significant damage to the political and organizational activities of the Sochi city branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, its authority." Similar language was used during the expulsion of Adler activist Markar Markaryan.

Pagayeva declared the Kuban CPRF Control and Auditing Commission illegitimate.

The expelled activists took the conflict to the legal level. In a complaint to CPRF leader Zyuganov and the Central Control and Auditing Commission (CCAC) of the CPRF (a copy of the document is in the possession of "Caucasian Knot"), Inna Pagayeva argued that the Kuban leadership's actions were illegal due to a direct violation of the party charter.

In her complaint, Pagayeva states:

"In accordance with paragraph 2.11 of the CPRF Charter, the Control and Auditing Commission and its Presidium are not included in the list of bodies authorized to make decisions on expulsion from the party. This right is reserved exclusively for the general meeting of the primary branch, the Bureau of the local/regional branch Committee, or the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPRF. I am the Secretary of the Sochi City Committee of the CPRF and a member of the elected party body. According to paragraph 2.11 of the Charter, a decision regarding a member of an elected body may be made exclusively by the relevant Plenum or a higher-level Bureau of the Committee (the Bureau of the Krasnodar Regional Committee), but not by the supervisory body. "The decision was made solely by the chairperson of the Control and Regulatory Commission without discussion in the appropriate authorities, which deprived me of my legal right to a defense and to provide an explanation," she stated, calling for the decision of the Control and Regulatory Commission of Krasnodar Krai to be declared illegal and without legal force and for her status as secretary of the Sochi City Committee to be confirmed.

Sochi communists await the reaction of the Central Committee of the party

In parallel, on June 17, Sochi communists signed an "Open Appeal" of the majority of conference delegates. It contains direct accusations of the regional nomenklatura betraying the interests of the leftist movement for personal gain.

The destruction of the Sochi activists is connected with the desire of the regional leadership to coordinate with the executive authorities loyal and compromising candidates for both the municipal elections to the Sochi City Assembly and the elections of deputies. State Duma

More than three dozen Sochi communists have signed an appeal to Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) leader Gennady Zyuganov. They believe the Krasnodar Regional Committee's interference in the work of the Sochi branch and the mass expulsion of party activists is aimed at merging with the ruling party ahead of the September 2026 elections.

"The destruction of the Sochi activists is connected with the regional leadership's desire to coordinate loyal and compromising candidates with the executive authorities for both the municipal elections to the Sochi City Assembly and the elections of deputies to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, sacrificing the party's positions for the sake of personal agreements," the appeal states (a copy of the document is in the possession of the "Caucasian Knot").

According to the authors of the appeal, Zhironkina's group acts "exclusively in the interests of the CPRF's political opponents," which leads to the demoralization of the rank and file. members.

The Sochi activists demand that the leadership of the XIX Congress of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation "appoint an independent commission of the Central Committee from Moscow to investigate the abuse of power by the leadership of the Krasnodar Regional Committee; cancel the illegal decisions to expel Sochi activists and reinstate them in the party with retention of their seniority; recognize the personnel appointments of Zhirinkin's group as illegitimate and hold new, fair internal party leadership elections."

Sochi communists believe that the reaction of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation to the open letter will be a "litmus test" on the eve of the elections: what position exactly does the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Zyuganov and his entourage adhere to.

The communists are confident that repression will continue in the regional branch

Activists point out that the personnel crackdown on the Sochi branch did not begin today. According to open statements by party members, the persecution of dissenters began about 10 years ago and ended harassment and then the removal of the elected leader of the Sochi Communists, Igor Vasiliev, from office, and his expulsion from the party along with his associates.

Active member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Sergey Bernosovsky, who signed the open letter, provided a chronology of events.

According to him, in September 2025, in the municipal elections, Vladislav Zhironkin and Sergei Baskakov, who "have no party experience" and do not enjoy the respect of local communists, are elected as deputies of the Sochi City Assembly in agreement with the authorities. At the same time, dozens of the most dedicated activists are being unlawfully expelled from the party, and the city branch lists are artificially filled with "dead souls" (up to 40% of the total).

On April 17, 2026, the Sochi City Council Bureau The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) opened a personal case against the secretary of the city committee, Inna Pagayeva, elected by a majority of local communists.

On May 16, 2026, during the 29th reporting and election conference of the Sochi branch of the CPRF, when the minutes of the counting commission were read out, at the request of the secretary of the Krasnodar regional committee, Alexander Safronov, legally elected members of the primary branches were removed from the lists of the already elected city committee. In response to resistance from the activists, the re-elected, illegitimate bureau of the city committee is launching repressive measures, Bernosovsky said.

On May 24, 2026, Pagayeva's supporters attempted to hold the second stage of the conference, but the event was disrupted.

On June 2, 2026, the primary party branch No. 2, "Golubye Dali", issued a disciplinary sanction in the form of severe imprisonment to Sochi branch committee member Markar Markaryan. reprimand. On the same day, the chairman of the Control and Auditing Commission of the Sochi branch sent a complaint to Krasnodar demanding a harsher punishment.

On June 5, the presidium of the Control and Auditing Commission (CAC) of the Krasnodar Regional Committee, chaired by Yevgeny Rashchepkin, overturned the decision of the primary branch and expelled Markar Markaryan from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, accusing him of "systematic failure to fulfill his duties" and "physical aggression" against the first secretary of the city committee, Zhironkina.

On June 6, 2026, the bureau of the Sochi city branch issued Inna Pagayeva a "severe reprimand," and on June 8, city committee secretary Sergei Baskakov filed a complaint with the regional CAC, demanding that Pagayeva's punishment be revised to a harsher one. On June 11, the presidium of the CAC of the Krasnodar Regional Branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation changed Pagayeva's "severe reprimand" to a severe reprimand. The measure is expulsion from the ranks of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

About a couple dozen more local communists are on the list for a similar "purge" of the regional leadership, having actively opposed the de facto merger of the local Communist Party leadership with the ruling party, explained Sergei Bernosovsky.