Local Context and Party Rhetoric: The Case of the LDPR the Urban Agenda

The article is devoted to examining the degree of substantive relevance between the programmatic rhetoric of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) and the current socio-political agenda of the city of Kineshma in the Ivanovo Region, against the backdrop of the ruling party’s dominance and the absence of opposition representation in local self-government bodies. The methodological basis of the study is a quantitative and qualitative content analysis applied to the texts of the municipal media outlet “168 Hours” and the official programmatic materials of the LDPR. The object of analysis is the media space as a reflection of public expectations and party rhetoric as a form of institutional response to them. Empirical results show that Kineshma’s media discourse is structurally focused on issues such as the state of housing and communal services, the accessibility of medical care, environmental safety, a shortage of jobs, and rising prices for municipal services. These problems dominate in terms of frequency and tone, forming a stable agenda of social tension. At the same time, the LDPR’s programmatic rhetoric focuses mainly on abstract, nationwide issues such as corruption, foreign policy threats, and the defense of traditional values, without offering concrete solutions to local challenges. The analysis shows that the LDPR’s program functions as a carrier of federal political narratives with a pronounced populist character and limited local adaptation. The party’s materials lack clear substantive alignment with the municipal context, which hinders the formation of a stable political image and reduces the level of electoral relevance. The party’s strategy is mobilizational and protest-oriented, but is not supported by a targeted political agenda, which limits its potential under conditions of local competition. The study’s findings emphasize the need for opposition parties to reorient thematically toward specific urban-level issues. The results obtained are of practical value for the development of substantively grounded electoral strategies in small and medium-sized cities with a high degree of political concentration and socioeconomic contradictions. The article’s materials may be useful in preparing municipal campaigns and in assessing the rhetorical effectiveness of parties under conditions of local political asymmetry.

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