El Partido Político Panruso "Rusia Unida" ( en ruso : Всероссийская политическая партия «Единая Россия» , romanizado : Vserossiyskaya politicheskaya partiya "Yedinaya Rossiya" , pronunciado [(j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə] ) es el partido político gobernante de Rusia . Como el partido más grande de la Federación Rusa , [27] posee 325 (o el 72,22 %) de los 450 escaños en la Duma Estatal a partir de 2022 [update], habiendo constituido la mayoría en la cámara desde 2007.
El partido se formó el 1 de diciembre de 2001 a través de la fusión de Unidad , Patria – Toda Rusia y Nuestro Hogar – Rusia . [28] Tras los resultados electorales de 2003 y 2011 , [29] Rusia Unida obtuvo una mayoría parlamentaria en la Duma Estatal y una mayoría constitucional en 2007 , 2016 y 2021. En las elecciones a la Duma de 2011 , por primera vez, la lista electoral de Rusia Unida se formó con base en los resultados de las elecciones preliminares (primarias) celebradas conjuntamente con el Frente Popular de toda Rusia . [30] Según las decisiones del XII Congreso de Rusia Unida, adoptadas el 24 de septiembre de 2011, en las elecciones a la Duma , la lista preelectoral del partido estaba encabezada por el presidente de la Federación Rusa en ese momento, Dmitri Medvédev , [31] [32] y en las elecciones de 2012 , Vladimir Putin se convirtió en el candidato presidencial. [33] La estructura del partido está formada por delegaciones regionales, locales y primarias. Se han creado delegaciones regionales de Rusia Unida en todos los sujetos de la Federación Rusa. En Rusia existen 82.631 delegaciones primarias y 2.595 locales del partido. [34]
Rusia Unida apoya las políticas de Putin, quien es el presidente ruso en ejercicio y sirvió como líder del partido durante la presidencia de Dmitri Medvédev ; a pesar de no ser actualmente el líder oficial o miembro del partido, Putin opera como su líder de facto . [35] Los votos de Rusia Unida alcanzaron su punto máximo en las elecciones legislativas rusas de 2007 con el 64,3% de los votos, mientras que en los últimos años, ha visto su popularidad disminuir. [36] La ideología del partido es inconsistente y abraza a funcionarios específicos, [37] todos los cuales apoyan a Putin. [38] Aunque en 2009 proclamó el conservadurismo ruso como su ideología oficial, [5] [39] atrae principalmente a votantes pro-Putin y no ideológicos, [40] [41] y los politólogos a menudo lo clasifican como un " partido de gran carpa ", [42] [43] [ 44] [45] o como un " partido de poder ", en lugar de una organización que se basa principalmente en una ideología política. [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51]
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El predecesor de Rusia Unida fue el bloque Unidad , que se creó tres meses antes de las elecciones a la Duma de diciembre de 1999 para contrarrestar el avance del partido Patria-Toda Rusia (OVR) dirigido por Yuri Luzhkov . La creación del partido fue fuertemente apoyada por los miembros del Kremlin , que desconfiaban de lo que parecía una victoria segura de OVR. No esperaban que Unidad tuviera muchas posibilidades de éxito ya que el presidente Boris Yeltsin era muy impopular y las calificaciones del primer ministro Vladimir Putin todavía eran minúsculas. El nuevo partido intentó imitar la fórmula de éxito de OVR, poniendo énfasis en la competencia y el pragmatismo. El carismático ministro de Situaciones de Emergencia Sergei Shoigu fue designado como líder del partido. [52]
Tatiana Yumasheva , hija del primer presidente de Rusia, Boris Yeltsin , escribió en su blog LiveJournal que Boris Berezovsky fue uno de los fundadores de Rusia Unida: "Ahora a Rusia Unida no le gusta recordar que Berezovsky tuvo algo que ver con la idea del surgimiento de la Unidad. Pero la historia es historia. No debemos olvidar a quienes estuvieron en sus orígenes. De lo contrario, se parece a la historia del VKP(b) , que fue reescrita cuidadosamente cada vez que su siguiente fundador resultó ser un enemigo del pueblo ". [53]
En 1999, el apoyo al Primer Ministro Putin aumentó a cifras de dos dígitos después de que enviara tropas a Chechenia en represalia por los bombardeos en Moscú y otras ciudades atribuidos a terroristas chechenos y en respuesta a la invasión chechena de Daguestán . El esfuerzo bélico fue enormemente popular y fue retratado positivamente por la Televisión Pública Rusa (ORT), propiedad de Boris Berezovsky, así como por la RTR controlada por el estado . [54]
Contrariamente a las expectativas de sus fundadores, la campaña electoral de Unity en las elecciones de 1999 fue un éxito, ya que el partido recibió el 23,3% de los votos, considerablemente más que el 13,3% de OVR y dentro de un punto porcentual del 24,3% del Partido Comunista . [52] [54] La popularidad del primer ministro resultó decisiva para la victoria de Unity. [54] Los resultados electorales también dejaron claro que Putin iba a ganar las elecciones presidenciales de 2000 , lo que dio lugar a la retirada de los competidores Luzhkov y Yevgeni Primakov . Yeltsin también le dio un impulso a Putin al dimitir como presidente el 31 de diciembre de 1999. [52]
Aunque inicialmente Unidad tenía un propósito limitado a las elecciones a la Duma de 1999 , los funcionarios estatales comenzaron a transformar el partido en uno permanente después de los resultados. Se invitó a un gran número de diputados independientes que habían sido elegidos para la Duma a unirse a la delegación del partido. Muchos diputados de OVR se unieron, incluido su líder Luzhkov. [52] En abril de 2001, los líderes de OVR y Unidad declararon que habían iniciado el proceso de unificación. En julio de 2001, el partido unificado, la Unión de Unidad y Patria, celebró su congreso fundacional. En diciembre de 2001, se convirtió en el Partido Panruso de Unidad y Patria - Rusia Unida, una fusión de Unidad, el movimiento Patria y el movimiento Panruso que se unió a ellos más tarde, dirigido por Mintimer Shaimiev . [55]
En lugar de la dicotomía “comunismo versus capitalismo” que había dominado el discurso político en los años 1990, en el ciclo electoral 1999-2000 Putin comenzó a enfatizar otra razón para votar por su partido: la estabilidad, que era anhelada por los ciudadanos rusos después de una década de cambio caótico. Con la excepción de los continuos combates en el Cáucaso Norte , se percibía que Putin la había logrado. [54]
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Tras la fusión de los partidos en el congreso fundacional, los líderes de los partidos fusionados (Sergei Shoigu, Yuri Luzhkov y Mintimer Shaimiev) fueron elegidos copresidentes del Consejo Supremo del partido. Alexander Bespalov se convirtió en el presidente del consejo general del partido, que ejercía la dirección práctica, y del comité ejecutivo central del partido. El consejo incluía al secretario del consejo político de la Patria-Toda Rusia, Alexander Vladislavlev, Franz Klintsevich y un miembro del Consejo de la Federación, Sergey Popov . [56]
El 20 de noviembre de 2002, el ministro del Interior, Boris Gryzlov, se convirtió en presidente del Consejo Supremo. [57] Los poderes de Bespalov como presidente del Consejo General fueron restringidos y el 27 de febrero de 2003, dejó su puesto. [58] Valery Bogomolov se convirtió en el presidente del consejo general del partido y Yury Volkov en el jefe del comité ejecutivo central. El 13 de enero de 2003, Rusia Unida tenía 257.000 miembros, lo que lo colocaba sólo detrás del Partido Liberal Democrático de Rusia (600.000) y los Comunistas (500.000). [55] El 31 de enero de 2003, el partido fue registrado por el Ministerio de Justicia de la Federación Rusa. [59]
El 29 de marzo de 2003 se celebró el segundo congreso del partido, en el que se aprobó el informe presentado por Boris Gryzlov y el manifiesto "El camino del éxito nacional". En el congreso se decidió elaborar un programa electoral para las próximas elecciones parlamentarias. [60] Sergei Shoigu dimitió y Boris Gryzlov fue elegido nuevo líder del partido. [55]
El 20 de septiembre de 2003, el Tercer Congreso del Partido adoptó el programa electoral y aprobó la lista de candidatos para las elecciones. [60] El congreso fue recibido por Vladimir Putin, quien deseó éxito al partido en las elecciones . [61] El 7 de diciembre, el partido "Unidad y Patria - Rusia Unida" ganó las elecciones, recibiendo el 37,57% de los votos y, con miembros de mandato único, una mayoría constitucional en la Duma Estatal . Boris Gryzlov se convirtió en presidente de la Duma Estatal.
El 24 de diciembre de 2003 se celebró el IV Congreso, en el que Boris Gryzlov presentó un informe. El congreso aprobó las principales disposiciones y conclusiones del informe, así como las actividades del partido durante la campaña electoral. El congreso adoptó la decisión unánime de apoyar la candidatura de Vladimir Putin a las elecciones presidenciales. Además, se decidió cambiar el nombre del partido de Unidad y Patria – Rusia Unida a Rusia Unida. [62]
Durante los primeros años de Putin como presidente, la economía del país mejoró considerablemente, creciendo más cada año que en toda la década anterior y los índices de aprobación de Putin rondaban el 70%. La recuperación económica de Rusia se vio ayudada por los altos precios de sus exportaciones primarias, como el petróleo, el gas y las materias primas. [54] La tasa de aprobación de propuestas de ley aumentó considerablemente después de que Rusia Unida se convirtiera en el partido dominante en la Duma. En 1996-1999, sólo el 76% de la legislación que pasó la tercera lectura fue firmada por el Presidente, mientras que en 1999-2003 la proporción fue del 93%. Mientras que Yeltsin había confiado a menudo en sus poderes de decreto para promulgar decisiones importantes, Putin casi nunca tuvo que hacerlo. El dominio de Rusia Unida en la Duma le permitió a Putin impulsar una amplia gama de reformas fundamentales, [63] incluyendo un impuesto a la renta fijo del 13%, un impuesto a las ganancias reducido, una revisión del mercado laboral, desmembramientos de monopolios nacionales y nuevos códigos de tierras y legales. [63] [64] [65] Rusia Unida se caracterizó por apoyar totalmente la agenda de Putin, lo que resultó ser una receta para el éxito y dio como resultado que el partido obtuviera una victoria en las elecciones a la Duma de 2003 , recibiendo más de un tercio del voto popular. [54]
A lo largo de su historia, Rusia Unida ha tenido éxito en el uso de recursos administrativos para debilitar a sus oponentes. Por ejemplo, los medios de comunicación controlados por el Estado retrataron al Partido Comunista como hipócrita por aceptar dinero de varios "millonarios en dólares" durante la campaña electoral de la Duma de 2003. [52] Los partidos de oposición también cometieron varios errores estratégicos. Por ejemplo, Yabloko y la Unión de Fuerzas de Derecha parecieron dedicar más esfuerzos a atacarse entre sí que a Putin, lo que facilitó a Rusia Unida ganarse a los votantes liberales gracias a las reformas de mercado impulsadas por Putin. [52] Los partidos de oposición flaquearon en las elecciones de 2003, y los comunistas obtuvieron sólo 52 escaños, una caída respecto de los 113 de 1999. A los oponentes liberales les fue aún peor, y Yabloko y la Unión de Fuerzas de Derecha no lograron cruzar el umbral del 5 por ciento. [54]
El 27 de noviembre de 2004, en el V Congreso, se llevó a cabo una reforma de la gestión: se disolvió el consejo político central y se introdujo el cargo de presidente del partido. Boris Gryzlov fue elegido presidente de Rusia Unida. [60] El 22 de abril de 2005, Vyacheslav Volodin , vicepresidente de la Duma Estatal, fue elegido nuevo secretario del Consejo General de Rusia Unida, en sustitución de Valery Bogomolov. [66] El 23 de abril de 2005, el diputado de la Duma Estatal Andrey Vorobyov , de 35 años , director de la Fundación Rusia Unida, asumió la dirección del comité ejecutivo central. [60]
La nueva dirección de Rusia Unida se ha marcado como objetivo la "participación del poder". [67] En la primavera de 2005 se aprobó una ley sobre la elección de la Duma Estatal exclusivamente con listas de partidos. Luego, la Duma Estatal aprobó enmiendas a la legislación federal que permiten al partido que gana las elecciones al parlamento regional proponer al presidente de Rusia su candidatura para el puesto de gobernador. En la abrumadora mayoría de las regiones, este derecho pertenecía a Rusia Unida. La gran mayoría de los gobernadores son miembros de Rusia Unida. En abril de 2006, Boris Gryzlov anunció que 66 de los 88 líderes de las regiones rusas ya eran miembros del partido. Desde 2005, los líderes de las grandes corporaciones industriales Rot Front , Babaevsky , Mechel y AvtoVAZ se han unido al partido.
El 26 de noviembre de 2005 se celebró en Krasnoyarsk el VI Congreso del Partido [68] , en el que se aprobó una nueva versión de los estatutos. Según una de las enmiendas, en caso de incumplimiento de las decisiones de los órganos centrales y regionales del partido, las actividades de una asociación política regional que no cumpla dichas decisiones podrán ser interrumpidas. En el congreso no se realizaron cambios en el programa del partido. En vísperas del VII Congreso del Partido, la dirección del partido político "Partido Industrial Unido Ruso" (ROPP) presentó una solicitud de fusión con el partido político "Rusia Unida". La fusión formal tuvo lugar el 1 de diciembre de 2006. [60]
El 2 de diciembre de 2006 se celebró en Ekaterimburgo el 7º Congreso del Partido. Como resultado del congreso se aprobó la declaración programática «La Rusia que elegimos», que esbozaba una estrategia de desarrollo basada en los principios de la democracia soberana . [62] En 2006-2007, Rusia Unida inició la creación de algunas nuevas organizaciones: la Guardia Joven de Rusia Unida , la Unión de Jubilados de Rusia, la Sociedad Pedagógica de Rusia y el Consejo Panruso de Autogobierno Local, con el objetivo de crear condiciones más favorables para la realización pública de los intereses de sus miembros. [62]
A medida que la economía siguió mejorando, Putin se movió para controlar a los oligarcas impopulares , los índices de aprobación de Putin se mantuvieron altos y ganó las elecciones presidenciales de 2004 con más del 71% de los votos. Las elecciones a la Duma de 2007 vieron a Rusia Unida obtener el 64,3% de los votos. El Partido Comunista quedó en un distante segundo lugar con el 11,57% de los votos. Putin fue el único nombre en la lista nacional de Rusia Unida. [54] Rusia Unida también introdujo requisitos más estrictos de registro de partidos, candidatos y votantes y aumentó el umbral electoral del 5% al 7% para las elecciones de 2007. [54]
Durante las elecciones de diciembre de 2007, el partido fue acusado por los votantes y el grupo de observación electoral Golos de numerosas violaciones de la ley electoral prohibidas en la Constitución rusa . [69] La agenda legislativa cambió un poco después de las elecciones de 2007. La legislación antiterrorista, los grandes aumentos en el gasto social y la creación de nuevas corporaciones estatales se convirtieron en los temas dominantes, mientras que se dedicó menos energía a la reforma económica. [63]
Para las elecciones presidenciales de 2008 , Rusia Unida nominó a Dmitri Medvédev para suceder a Putin. Medvédev recibió la bendición de Putin y obtuvo una clara victoria, recibiendo el 71% de los votos. Como presidente, Medvédev nominó a Putin como su primer ministro. El 15 de abril de 2008, Putin aceptó una nominación para convertirse en el líder del partido, pero declaró que esto no significaba que se convertiría en miembro. Medvédev también se negó a convertirse en miembro. [52] El 7 de mayo de 2008, Boris Gryzlov fue reemplazado como líder del partido por Putin. [70] El Partido Agrario apoyó la candidatura de Dmitri Medvédev en las elecciones presidenciales de 2008 y se fusionó con Rusia Unida. [71]
Durante las elecciones regionales del 11 de octubre de 2009, Rusia Unida obtuvo la mayoría de los escaños en casi todos los municipios rusos. Los candidatos de la oposición afirmaron que se les impidió hacer campaña para las elecciones y a algunos se les negó un lugar en la papeleta. [72] [73] Hubo acusaciones de manipulación generalizada de las urnas e intimidación de los votantes, así como resultados de análisis estadísticos que respaldaban estas acusaciones. [72] El apoyo a Rusia Unida fue del 53% en una encuesta realizada en octubre de 2009. [74] El 28 de septiembre de 2010, el alcalde destituido de Moscú, Yury Luzhkov , dejó el puesto de copresidente del Consejo Supremo de Rusia Unida y abandonó el partido. [75]
En 2010-2011 y después de la crisis económica, el apoyo a Rusia Unida fue variable, pero en general disminuyó. La proporción de la población que votó por el partido alcanzó su punto más bajo en enero de 2011 (35%) antes de recuperarse al 41% en marzo de 2011. [76] En el 12º Congreso del Partido celebrado el 24 de septiembre de 2011, Medvedev apoyó la candidatura del primer ministro Putin en las elecciones presidenciales de 2012, lo que efectivamente aseguró que Putin regresaría a la presidencia, dado el dominio casi total del partido en la política rusa. Medvedev aceptó la oferta del primer ministro Putin de liderar Rusia Unida en las elecciones a la Duma y dijo que, en su opinión, Putin debería postularse a la presidencia en 2012. [ cita requerida ] Los delegados dieron una ovación de pie a esta declaración y apoyaron unánimemente su candidatura presidencial. [ cita requerida ] Medvedev reaccionó de inmediato, diciendo que los aplausos eran una prueba de la popularidad de Putin entre la gente. El discurso de Medvedev fue escuchado por unos diez mil participantes en la reunión. En total, al congreso asistieron unos 12.000 participantes, entre invitados y periodistas, lo que no tiene precedentes en este tipo de reuniones políticas. [77]
En el mismo congreso se aprobó la lista preelectoral de candidatos del partido para las elecciones de diciembre a la Duma Estatal . La lista incluía 416 miembros del partido y 183 no miembros del partido, 363 de los cuales se presentan por primera vez. El 29 de septiembre de 2011, la lista fue presentada a la Comisión Electoral Central de la Federación Rusa . [78] El presidente Medvedev encabezó la lista del partido. 582 delegados del congreso votaron a favor de la lista y uno votó en contra. [79] El programa electoral de Rusia Unida fue anunciado en los discursos de Medvedev y Putin en el congreso. Medvedev identificó siete prioridades estratégicas de política gubernamental, y Putin propuso cancelar 30 mil millones de rublos en deudas tributarias erróneas de 36 millones de rusos y aumentar los salarios de los trabajadores del sector público en un 6,5% a partir del 10 de octubre. Putin también señaló que los impuestos para los ciudadanos ricos deberían ser más altos que para la clase media y sugirió aumentar las tarifas de vivienda y servicios comunales solo por encima de la norma establecida. Entre otras prioridades, Putin mencionó el rearme completo del ejército y la marina en 5 a 10 años, duplicar el ritmo de construcción de carreteras en 10 años, crear o actualizar 25 millones de puestos de trabajo en 20 años y convertir a Rusia en una de las cinco economías más grandes del mundo. [80]
En el XIII Congreso del Partido, celebrado el 26 de mayo de 2012, Medvédev fue elegido presidente de Rusia Unida. [81] Rusia Unida decidió no utilizar los retratos de Medvédev y Putin durante la campaña electoral de otoño. El 26 de septiembre, el periódico Vedomosti escribió sobre ello, citando a una fuente de alto rango dentro del partido. [82] En marzo de 2013, unos 50 miembros de Rusia Unida del distrito de Abansky del Krai de Krasnoyarsk anunciaron su retirada del partido. Enviaron una carta abierta (afirmando que la habían firmado 60 personas) al presidente del partido, Medvédev, en la que criticaban las actividades del partido, que, según ellos, había dejado de cumplir su función política. [83] El 5 de octubre de 2013, se celebró en Moscú el XIV Congreso del Partido. Según los datos de inscripción, de los 726 delegados al XIV Congreso, estuvieron presentes 697.
El 6 de mayo de 2011, durante la conferencia interregional celebrada en el Distrito Federal Sur , el primer ministro en funciones de Rusia y líder de Rusia Unida, Vladímir Putin, tomó la iniciativa de crear el Frente Popular Panruso, una unión política de organizaciones sociales. Los representantes del Frente Popular Panruso, según su idea, fueron incluidos en la lista de Rusia Unida en las elecciones a la Duma de 2011 y participaron en las primarias del partido.
Propongo crear lo que en la práctica política se llama un frente popular amplio. Es un instrumento para unir fuerzas políticas afines. Me gustaría mucho que Rusia Unida, otros partidos políticos, sindicatos, organizaciones de mujeres, de jóvenes y de veteranos, incluidos los veteranos de la Gran Guerra Patria y los veteranos de la guerra de Afganistán, pudieran trabajar en una única plataforma todas las personas unidas por el deseo común de fortalecer nuestro país, la idea de encontrar las soluciones más óptimas a los problemas que enfrentamos. [84]
Esta forma de unir los esfuerzos de todas las fuerzas políticas se utiliza en diferentes países y por diferentes fuerzas políticas, tanto de izquierda como de derecha, y patrióticas; es un instrumento para unir fuerzas políticas afines en espíritu. Me gustaría que Rusia Unida, otros partidos y organizaciones sociales unieran a todas las personas unidas por el deseo de mejorar la vida del país. Esta asociación podría llamarse "Frente Popular Panruso", en cuyo seno podrían entrar en la Duma candidatos no partidistas en la lista de Rusia Unida.— Vladimir Putin [85]
Tenemos muchos acuerdos bilaterales con organizaciones públicas. Ya estamos trabajando con ellas, pero estamos trabajando en algunas áreas específicas. La creación del frente es el siguiente paso en la consolidación de Rusia Unida y de organizaciones externas. Nos gustaría involucrar a las organizaciones públicas en la redacción del programa. Nos gustaría que el mayor número posible de asociaciones y organizaciones públicas presentaran sus ideas para el desarrollo futuro de nuestro país.
— Borís Grizlov [86]
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El 7 de mayo de 2011 se celebró la primera reunión del consejo de coordinación de la nueva organización, a la que asistieron representantes de 16 organizaciones sociales. El 13 de junio se publicó en el sitio web de Rusia Unida un proyecto de declaración sobre la formación del frente. El ONF incluía más de 500 organizaciones sociales. Las más importantes son Opora Rossii, la Unión Rusa de Industriales y Empresarios , la Federación de Sindicatos Independientes de Rusia , Delovaya Rossiya, la Unión de Pensionistas de Rusia, la Guardia Joven de Rusia Unida , la Unión de Trabajadores del Transporte de Rusia y la Unión de Mujeres de Rusia. También el 7 de junio, tras numerosas peticiones de los ciudadanos, se decidió permitir la adhesión de particulares al ONF. A fecha de 14 de junio de 2011, más de 6.000 personas deseaban unirse al movimiento.
El programa político y económico de la ONF fue desarrollado por el Instituto de Investigación Socioeconómica y Política bajo el liderazgo del ex presidente de Chuvashia , Nikolay Fyodorov , en el otoño de 2011 y fue adoptado por el congreso del partido. [87] Como señaló Fyodorov, el Programa Popular se convirtió en una guía para el trabajo legislativo de la Duma Estatal de la nueva convocatoria, y todas las decisiones acordadas se volvieron obligatorias para los diputados de Rusia Unida y la ONF. [88]
Según el autor de Gazeta.ru , al crear la ONF, Vladimir Putin y Rusia Unida, por primera vez, violaron abiertamente el principio de despartidización de la economía y la vida pública, que fue introducido el 20 de julio de 1991 por el decreto de Boris Yeltsin "Sobre el cese de las actividades de las estructuras organizativas de los partidos políticos y movimientos sociales de masas en los órganos estatales, instituciones y organizaciones de la RSFSR" y que se convirtió en uno de los fundamentos del sistema político ruso.
Las afirmaciones de que el ONF no está registrado y, por lo tanto, se encuentra fuera del ámbito legal no resisten ninguna crítica. En cuanto a su composición y forma organizativa, el "frente" corresponde a un movimiento social, y en cuanto a sus objetivos, a un partido político. La formación de la voluntad política de los ciudadanos y la participación en las elecciones es prerrogativa de los partidos. Y el ONF, según su declaración, fue creado precisamente para la elaboración de un programa popular "basado en la discusión más amplia en todas las organizaciones públicas" (y ahora en las empresas) y para la participación conjunta en las elecciones.
— Gazeta.ru
El 5 y 6 de febrero de 2016 se celebró en Moscú el XV Congreso del Partido Rusia Unida, cuyo tema principal fue la aprobación del procedimiento para la celebración de la votación preliminar para la selección de candidatos a las elecciones a la Duma Estatal de la séptima convocatoria. El 22 de mayo de 2016, Rusia Unida celebró elecciones primarias a escala nacional, formalmente para la selección de candidatos del partido a las elecciones a la Duma Estatal ; sin embargo, la victoria de una u otra persona en estas primarias no significaba en absoluto que el ganador se convirtiera en candidato de Rusia Unida a las elecciones a la Duma Estatal.
Algunos ganadores fueron excluidos de las listas por la dirección del partido (a menudo bajo pretextos extraños), y sus lugares en la lista del partido fueron otorgados a personas que mostraron resultados muy bajos en la votación del 22 de mayo de 2016. Por ejemplo, en la lista regional final del partido para la región de Sverdlovsk , los segundos y terceros lugares "aprobados" fueron para los participantes que obtuvieron los puestos 9 y 10 en las primarias. [89] Por un principio similar, algunos de los ganadores de las primarias en distritos uninominales fueron reemplazados. Por ejemplo, el partido nombró a una persona como candidato del partido en el distrito de Nizhny Tagil , quien, según los resultados de la votación en el distrito, obtuvo solo el cuarto lugar. [90]
Más de 20 personas que no participaron en las primarias del 22 de mayo fueron nominadas por el partido como candidatos a la Duma Estatal, además, en "lugares de paso". Además, en 18 distritos uninominales donde se celebraron las primarias, Rusia Unida no nominó a nadie a la Duma Estatal en 2016. Se desconocen los motivos de esta decisión, sobre todo porque los resultados de las primarias de estos distritos no fueron anulados. Al comienzo de la etapa activa de la campaña electoral para la Duma Estatal, se realizaron reorganizaciones en la sede de campaña encabezada por Sergei Neverov, que comenzó a funcionar en dos formatos diferentes: la sede operativa (se reúne dos veces por semana en un formato reducido para resolver problemas operativos) y la sede ampliada (se reúne con toda su fuerza una vez cada dos semanas). [91] El 22 de enero de 2017, Medvedev fue reelegido como presidente del partido. [92]
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El 26 de mayo de 2019, por primera vez en la historia de las elecciones políticas a gran escala celebradas en Rusia, el partido aplicó el procedimiento de votación electrónica secreta preliminar utilizando tecnología blockchain . La votación electrónica secreta fue utilizada por los votantes en 47 regiones de Rusia en elecciones multinivel para determinar los candidatos para la nominación posterior de Rusia Unida a la Duma Estatal, los parlamentos regionales y los gobiernos locales. [93] En las elecciones a la Duma de 2021 , el partido mantuvo su supermayoría en la Duma Estatal, a pesar de que las encuestas previas a las elecciones indicaban niveles históricamente bajos de apoyo al partido en torno al 30%, lo que provocó acusaciones generalizadas de fraude electoral a favor de Rusia Unida. [94]
En marzo de 2022, durante la invasión rusa de Ucrania , el partido abrió un centro de ayuda en Mariupol . [95] En noviembre de 2022, varias fuentes de Rusia Unida informaron que el partido no celebraría un congreso anual porque "el partido no está preparado para proponer una agenda estratégica". La negativa a celebrar un congreso anual es una violación de los estatutos del partido. [96] En diciembre de 2022, la Unión Europea sancionó a Rusia Unida debido a la invasión rusa de Ucrania en 2022. [ 97] [ se necesita una fuente no primaria ]
Rusia Unida ha participado en todas las elecciones a la Duma Estatal de la Federación Rusa desde 2003 (desde 1999 a través de sus predecesores: Patria – Toda Rusia y Unidad ). Al mismo tiempo, el partido utilizó activamente la estrategia política de la "locomotora": [98] incluyendo en sus listas de partido a personas conocidas que no iban a convertirse en diputados o rechazaron mandatos inmediatamente después de la elección, mientras que miembros del partido menos conocidos trabajaron en la Duma Estatal en su lugar. En 2003, 37 candidatos electos de Rusia Unida rechazaron mandatos de diputados; en 2007, fueron 116 candidatos y 99 candidatos en 2011. [98] Entre los participantes de la "locomotora" de Rusia Unida se encontraban el Presidente de la Federación Rusa (2007, 2011), los jefes de las entidades constituyentes de la Federación Rusa , ministros del Gobierno ruso y alcaldes de ciudades. [98]
El 7 de diciembre de 2003 se celebraron las elecciones a la Duma Estatal de la Asamblea Federal de Rusia de la cuarta convocatoria, que fueron las primeras en las que Rusia Unida actuó como partido político. Como resultado de la votación, Rusia Unida obtuvo 223 escaños en el Parlamento (120 en la lista y 103 en distritos uninominales). Boris Gryzlov, Sergei Shoigu y Yuri Luzhkov encabezaron la lista de Rusia Unida. La participación electoral fue del 55,75%. Rusia Unida obtuvo el 37,56% de los votos [99] , lo que le dio 120 escaños; el partido recibió otros 103 escaños en distritos uninominales, lo que, junto con la adhesión a la facción autonominada, le permitió formar una mayoría cualificada en la Duma Estatal.
El 2 de diciembre de 2007 se celebraron las elecciones de diputados de la Duma Estatal de la Asamblea Federal de la Federación de Rusia de la quinta convocatoria. Rusia Unida obtuvo 315 escaños en el Parlamento. Por primera vez, las elecciones se celebraron exclusivamente según el sistema proporcional, sin la participación de candidatos de mandato único. [100]
Vladimir Putin encabezó en solitario la lista federal de Rusia Unida. El 1 de octubre de 2007, el presidente Putin anunció en el congreso del partido Rusia Unida que aceptaría la invitación del partido para encabezar la lista de candidatos, aunque se negó a unirse al partido. En su discurso, Vladimir Putin dijo que la sugerencia de un orador anterior de convertirse en primer ministro después del final de su segundo mandato presidencial "es completamente realista, pero es demasiado pronto para hablar de ello ahora". Rusia Unida se negó a participar en ningún debate político transmitido por televisión, pero el 1 de octubre aprobó un programa en el que prometía continuar el curso político de Putin. El programa electoral se llamó "El plan de Putin: un futuro digno para un gran país". Durante la campaña de 2007, el presidente Putin dio a Rusia Unida permiso oficial para usar su nombre e imagen en la campaña electoral del partido para la Duma Estatal de la V convocatoria. [101]
La participación electoral fue del 63,78% y Rusia Unida obtuvo el 64,20%, lo que le permitió obtener 315 escaños y asegurar la mayoría constitucional en la Duma Estatal tras unirse con los diputados de mandato único y los miembros de la facción del Partido Popular de Rusia .
El 4 de diciembre de 2011 se celebraron las elecciones de diputados de la Duma Estatal de la Asamblea Federal de la Federación de Rusia de la VI convocatoria. Por primera vez, la Duma Estatal fue elegida por cinco años. [102] Como resultado de las elecciones, Rusia Unida obtuvo 238 escaños. Al igual que en 2007, las elecciones se celebraron solo según el sistema proporcional. El 24 de septiembre de 2011, en el 12º Congreso del partido Rusia Unida, el presidente Medvedev encabezó la lista electoral de Rusia Unida. La participación electoral fue del 60,1% de los votantes. [103] Según datos oficiales de la Comisión Electoral Central de Rusia , el 49,31% de los votantes votaron por Rusia Unida. En las elecciones a la Duma de 2011 , Rusia Unida formó una lista electoral basada en las primarias de toda Rusia junto con el Frente Popular de toda Rusia , al menos 150 de cuyos representantes estaban incluidos en la lista federal del partido. [30] Boris Gryzlov también señaló que los políticos federales y ministros estarían a la cabeza de algunos grupos regionales del partido en las elecciones y no descartó que después de las elecciones, la composición del Gobierno ruso cambiaría. [104]
También en 2011, Rusia Unida participó por primera vez en un debate televisado. Se anunció que podrían participar en el debate el presidente de la Duma Estatal, Boris Gryzlov, el secretario del Presidium del Consejo General, Serguéi Neverov , el jefe de la CEC del partido, Andrei Vorobyov , los diputados Andrei Isayev , Svetlana Orlova , Andrei Makarov y el gobernador del Krai de Krasnodar , Alexander Tkachev . [105] Sin embargo, los miembros de Rusia Unida participaron en debates libres en el marco de la emisión prevista por la ley. Se abstuvieron de participar en algunos debates pagados, en particular con el Partido Comunista de la Federación Rusa, [106] [107] prefiriendo reunirse con los comunistas en debates libres. [108] Putin, líder de Rusia Unida, y Medvedev, líder de la lista federal de Rusia Unida en las elecciones, [109] el presidente del consejo supremo del partido Boris Gryzlov, así como los miembros del gobierno que encabezaban las listas del partido en el poder en las regiones, no participaron en los debates preelectorales. [110]
El 18 de septiembre de 2016, en un único día de votación, se celebraron en toda Rusia las elecciones de diputados de la Duma Estatal de la Asamblea Federal de la Federación de Rusia de la VII convocatoria. [111] Las elecciones se celebraron según un sistema electoral mixto: de 450 diputados, 225 fueron elegidos en listas de partido en un solo distrito federal (sistema proporcional) y otros 225 fueron elegidos en distritos uninominales (sistema mayoritario). La lista federal del partido estuvo nuevamente encabezada por Dmitri Medvédev, presidente del partido Rusia Unida. Como resultado de las elecciones, Rusia Unida recibió 343 escaños en la nueva convocatoria y formó una mayoría constitucional. La participación en las elecciones fue del 47,88%; el partido ganó el 54,20% de los votos en las listas, lo que le supuso 140 escaños. [112] Rusia Unida recibió otros 203 escaños según los resultados de la votación en distritos uninominales. [113] Los 343 escaños finales en el Parlamento son el indicador más alto del partido en las elecciones a la Duma Estatal.
Las elecciones de diputados de la Duma Estatal de la Asamblea Federal de la Federación de Rusia de la VIII convocatoria se celebraron del 17 al 19 de septiembre y finalizaron en una única jornada de votación el 19 de septiembre de 2021. Las elecciones se celebraron según un sistema electoral mixto: según listas de partidos (225 diputados) y distritos electorales de mandato único (225 diputados). En el congreso del partido celebrado el 19 de junio de 2021, el presidente Vladimir Putin propuso incluir en la lista al ministro de Defensa, Sergei Shoigu, al ministro de Asuntos Exteriores, Sergei Lavrov, al médico jefe del Hospital Clínico de la Ciudad de Moscú nº 40 "Kommunarka", Denis Protsenko, a la jefa del Centro Educativo Sirius y copresidenta de la sede central del Frente Popular Panruso, Elena Shmelyova, y a la Comisionada para los Derechos del Niño de la Presidencia de la Federación de Rusia, Anna Kuznetsova. [114]
Para seleccionar a los candidatos restantes en todos los distritos electorales, el partido fue el único de todos los participantes en las elecciones que realizó una votación preliminar (primarias). Del 15 de marzo al 14 de mayo, se aceptaron más de 7.500 solicitudes de solicitantes, miembros de Rusia Unida y no partidistas. El 30% de los participantes en la votación preliminar fueron voluntarios que trabajaron durante la pandemia y activistas sociales. Por primera vez, la votación anticipada se hizo electrónica en todo el país, pero en 46 regiones, se mantuvo la posibilidad de votar en persona. Más de 12 millones de votantes participaron en las elecciones internas del partido, de los cuales alrededor de 6 millones votaron en línea. Rusia Unida fue a las urnas con el Programa Popular, un documento político basado en el mensaje de abril del Presidente y los deseos del pueblo que se reunió tradicionalmente -en reuniones y a través de fiestas de recepción públicas- y en un sitio web creado especialmente, np.er.ru. [115] Más de 2 millones de personas presentaron sus propuestas para el desarrollo del país.
Otra tendencia del partido en las elecciones fue la renovación. Ya en la etapa de las primarias, sólo la mitad de los diputados actuales de la Duma Estatal participaron en ellas, pero más del 30% de los participantes eran voluntarios, activistas sociales y graduados de proyectos rusos y de personal del partido. La participación electoral fue del 51,72%. Rusia Unida obtuvo el 49,82% de los votos en las listas del partido, lo que le permitió obtener 126 escaños. El partido logró obtener otros 198 escaños en distritos electorales de mandato único, lo que le permitió obtener 324 escaños en el Parlamento y mantener la mayoría constitucional.
Desde 2009, en muchas regiones, Rusia Unida ha adoptado la práctica de apoyar a candidatos formalmente independientes en las elecciones locales. [116] [117] [118] El politólogo Sergei Dyachkov cree que se trata de una táctica bien pensada relacionada con el miedo a que los candidatos pierdan votos debido a la insatisfacción con las acciones de las autoridades en el contexto de la crisis financiera y económica. [117] Según Roman Prytkov, periodista de la Agencia de Investigación Federal, los candidatos que representan a las autoridades creen que ha dejado de ser rentable acudir a las urnas bajo la bandera de Rusia Unida porque les privará de parte de los votos. [119] Kommersant cree que "las grandes ciudades se han convertido en un problema electoral para Rusia Unida: los candidatos prefieren no anunciar su afiliación partidaria". [120] Según se informa, los candidatos nominados por Rusia Unida a menudo se avergüenzan de su afiliación partidaria y tratan de no anunciarla cuando se reúnen con los votantes y no la indican en sus materiales de campaña. [121] [122] [123]
En las elecciones a la alcaldía de Jimki en 2012, el partido apoyó a un miembro autoproclamado de Rusia Unida, Oleg Shakhov, que actuó como alcalde. [124] En las elecciones municipales en 125 municipios intraurbanos de la ciudad de Moscú el 4 de marzo de 2012, los candidatos (miembros del partido Rusia Unida y los previamente elegidos del partido Rusia Unida) fueron nominados de forma independiente. No se nominó a ningún candidato oficial del partido Rusia Unida. [125] [126] En junio de 2013, el miembro del Consejo Supremo de Rusia Unida Serguéi Sobianin , propuesto por Rusia Unida en 2010 al presidente Medvédev como candidato a la alcaldía de Moscú , fue a las reelecciones anticipadas como candidato independiente. [127] Rusia Unida consideró que "la decisión de Serguéi Sobianin de no postularse a la alcaldía del partido fue la correcta, porque de esta manera podría reunir a representantes de las fuerzas "más diversas"", y prometió brindar apoyo en cualquier caso. [128] [129]
El 8 de septiembre de 2013, simultáneamente con las elecciones al alcalde de Moscú, se celebraron elecciones de diputados municipales en varios distritos de la región de Moscú , recientemente anexionada a la capital. Al igual que en 2012, Rusia Unida no participará directamente en estas elecciones. Los candidatos afiliados a este partido o a las administraciones distritales acudirán a las urnas como "autonombrados" debido, según una fuente anónima de Gazeta.Ru , "a la baja valoración de Rusia Unida tanto en Moscú como en la región de Moscú". [130]
Según Aleksey Melnikov, autor de Gazeta.ru, "el tipo de "autonominado" que ha aparecido en la vida política de Rusia, ocultando diligentemente el carné del partido Rusia Unida y el bolsillo de un fiel del gobierno, muestra una crisis ... cuando la nueva máscara del Frente Popular de toda Rusia aún no se ha puesto, mientras está en el estante, y la antigua, la llamada "Rusia Unida", casi se ha quitado". [131] En noviembre de 2019, el secretario del consejo general del partido, Andrey Turchak , dijo que en las próximas elecciones a la Duma Estatal en 2021, Rusia Unida nominaría a sus propios candidatos y dejaría de brindar apoyo a los miembros autonominados de Rusia Unida ya que "Rusia Unida no debería estar 'avergonzada' de su afiliación partidaria, sino, por el contrario, estar orgullosa de ella". [132]
Preliminary voting of United Russia (colloquially known as "primaries") is a procedure for intra-party voting on candidates for subsequent nomination from United Russia, its regional branches as candidates for deputies of the legislative bodies of state power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Preliminary voting is organized and conducted to provide opportunities for citizens of the Russian Federation to participate in the political life of society. According to the results of the preliminary voting in 2011, organized by United Russia and the ONF for the first time in Russian political history, more than 150 non-partisan candidates were included in the electoral lists of United Russia, and the successful holding of the primaries prompted Vladimir Putin to propose legislatively making this procedure mandatory for all political parties.[133]
Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) Director General Valery Fyodorov notes that, according to an August 2011 VTsIOM poll, about a third of Russians were aware of the party and ONF primaries, and United Russia "tried to turn an intra-party ... event into a topic of interest to those who are not only members of United Russia, but are often generally apolitical."[134] After the primaries were held, Vladimir Putin said in August 2011 that he considered it expedient to hold primaries for all parties and extend this practice to the regional and municipal levels.[30] On 24 August, acting Vice Speaker of the State Duma Oleg Morozov announced that in September, United Russia intends to submit to the State Duma a bill introducing mandatory primaries.[135] Since 2016, preliminary voting in the party has been held annually. From 2016 to 2020, it lasted one day; in 2021, the practice of weekly voting was introduced, with voters making their choice electronically for six days. United Russia remains the only political force using the preliminary voting mechanism.
The preliminary voting held by United Russia on 24–30 May 2021 throughout the country was the largest in the history of this procedure. It was attended by about 11 million people (more than 10 percent of the total number of voters in the country). The average age of the candidates was 41 years.[136]
Electronic preliminary voting is a form of remote voting. For this purpose, a special site for preliminary voting, adapted for smartphone use, has been created. In addition to the convenience for voters, the site allows candidates to independently fill out their pages: post news, videos, and photos, and distribute their pages. The personal account is integrated with the leading social networks. In 2018, as an experiment in several regions, United Russia held the first electronic voting. 140,000 people took part in the voting.[137]
In 2021, United Russia's preliminary voting occurred online from 24 to 30 May nationwide. In total, 6,031,800 people took part in the preliminary electronic voting.[138] Access to voting on the site is provided after authorization through the State Services portal. To prevent fraud, United Russia independently developed and implemented special software to simplify the monitoring of electronic voting by all interested participants in the procedure.
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United Russia currently holds 340 of the 450 seats in the State Duma.[54] It heads all five of the Duma's commissions,[139] and holds 14 of the 26 committee chairmanships,[139] and 10 of the 16 seats in the Council of Duma, the Duma's steering committee.[140] The speaker of the Duma is United Russia's Vyacheslav Volodin.[141][142] The party has only informal influence in the upper house, the Federation Council, as the Council has rejected the use of political factions in decision making.[63]
In 2013, United Russia claimed a membership of 2 million.[4] According to a study conducted by Timothy J. Colton, Henry E. Hale and Michael McFaul after the March 2008 presidential elections, 30% of the Russian population are loyalists of the party.[52] As of 2010, 26% of party members were pensioners, students and temporarily unemployed, 21.2% worked in education, 20.9% in industry, 13.2% were in the civil service and worked in government, 8% worked in healthcare, 4% were entrepreneurs, and about 4% worked in the art field.[143]
The party's official ideological platform, described by its leaders as centrist,[144][145][146][147][148] conservative,[149][150][151][152][153][154] and Russian conservatism,[149] suggests a statist stance and declared pragmatism. Researchers also singled out in the party Russian integralism,[155] Eurasianism,[156] statism,[157] and Putinism.[158] According to the party's 2003 political manifesto, The Path of National Success, the party's goal is to unite the responsible political forces of the country, aiming to minimize the differences between rich and poor, young and old, state, business and society. The economy should combine state regulation and market freedoms, with the benefits of further growth distributed mostly to the less fortunate. The party rejects left-wing and right-wing ideologies in favour of "political centrism" that could unite all sections of society.[55] In addition, the official party platform emphasizes pragmatism and anti-radicalism. The party regards itself as one of the heirs to Russia's tradition of statehood, both tsarist and Soviet eras.[159] United Russia's long-time moniker is "the party of real deeds".[160]
In April 2005, State Duma Chairman Boris Gryzlov announced that United Russia was choosing a socially conservative policy. Gryzlov stressed that United Russia opposes "both various kinds of communist restorationism and ultra-liberalism". He criticized the supporters of the liberal theory, which, in his opinion, "reinforces the advantages of the strong and rich, gives them a head start, makes it difficult for new people and enterprises to enter."[161] Since 2006, when Vladislav Surkov introduced the term sovereign democracy, many party figureheads have used the term. Former President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has criticised the term. United Russia voted against the Council of Europe resolution 1481 (Need for international condemnation of crimes of communist governments).[162][163]
The party supports the policies of the current government and the president. United Russia went to the 2007 parliamentary elections with slogans supporting the course of President Vladimir Putin and Putin's plan.[164] In 2009, the party proclaimed Russian conservatism as its official ideology.[5][6] This was stated with complete clarity and certainty at the 11th Party Congress in St. Petersburg. On November 21, the program document of the party was adopted, which stated: "The ideology of the Party is Russian conservatism."[154]
The program document of the United Russia party notes: "Our absolute priority is people. This priority was gained by Russia - for centuries the price of human life was almost negligible. All human rights proclaimed by the Constitution and international law have the same, unconditional and supreme value for us: whether it be freedom of speech, freedom of movement, access to cultural values, the right to housing or social security."[154]
The party has promoted explicitly conservative policies in social, cultural and political matters, at home and abroad. Putin has attacked globalism and economic liberalism as well as scientific and technological progress.[165][166] Putin has promoted new think tanks that bring together like-minded intellectuals and writers. For example, the Izborsky Club, founded in 2012 by Aleksandr Prokhanov, stresses Russian nationalism, restoring Russia's historical greatness, and systematic opposition to liberal ideas and policies.[167] Vladislav Surkov, a senior government official, has been one of the key ideologists during Putin's presidency.[168]
In 2015, United Russia changed its ideology to liberal conservatism, which is right-leaning centrism. The change in United Russia's positions was due to the economic crisis in Russia at the time.[169] The charter states the main values of the party:
To comply with these values, per the charter, the party must:
The United Russia party is also ideologically heterogeneous. It has a left, socially conservative "wing" and a right, liberal-conservative "wing". There is also a national-conservative group in the party. They are officially recognized parts of the party as debating clubs. These are the "liberal" club "November 4", the "social" club "Center for Social Conservative Policy", as well as the State Patriotic Club.[154] In cultural and social affairs, United Russia has collaborated closely with the Russian Orthodox Church. Mark Woods provides specific examples of how the Church under Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has backed the expansion of Russian power into Crimea and eastern Ukraine.[171] More broadly, The New York Times reported in September 2016 how that Church's policy prescriptions support the Kremlin's appeal to social conservatives:
A fervent foe of homosexuality and any attempt to put individual rights above those of family, community or nation, the Russian Orthodox Church helps project Russia as the natural ally of all those who pine for a more secure, illiberal world free from the tradition-crushing rush of globalization, multiculturalism and women's and gay rights.[172]
On 21 October 2021, Putin, speaking at the plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club, announced the principles of the ideology of "healthy conservatism" at the heart of Russia's approaches. According to Putin, a conservative approach does not mean "thoughtless guarding", fear of change and playing for hold or "locking in one's own shell." According to the president, moderate conservatism is a reliance on traditions, the preservation and growth of the population, a real assessment of oneself and others, the precise alignment of a system of priorities, the correlation of what is necessary and what is possible, the prudent formulation of goals, and the principled rejection of extremism as a way of action.[173]
Putin's Plan is an ideological cliché introduced to refer to the political and economic program of Russia's second president, Vladimir Putin, for later use in United Russia's election campaign in the 2007 Duma elections. It was used in the slogan "Putin's plan is Russia's victory" on the cover of a brochure and outdoor campaign advertising.[174] In the election program of the United Russia party for the 2007 parliamentary elections, the "Putin's Plan" was formulated as follows:
- further development of Russia as a unique civilization, protection of the common cultural space, the Russian language, our historical traditions;
- increasing the competitiveness of the economy through entering the innovative path of development, supporting science, developing infrastructure, increasing investment, primarily in high technology, in the industry - the locomotives of economic growth;
- ensuring a new quality of life for citizens by continuing the implementation of priority national projects, further and significant increases in wages, pensions and scholarships, assisting citizens in solving the housing problem;
- support for civil society institutions, stimulation of social mobility and activity, promotion of public initiatives;
- strengthening the sovereignty of Russia, the country's defense capability, ensuring for it a worthy place in the multipolar world.[175]
Later, an illustrated brochure "Putin's Plan" was published and distributed free of charge as an election advertisement for United Russia.
In February 2006, the party's official website published a transcript of a speech by Vladislav Surkov, deputy head of the presidential administration of Russia, to the audience of the United Russia Center for Party Education and Personnel Training, in which he made an attempt "to describe recent history in assessments and from the point of view that generally corresponds to the course of the president, and through this to formulate our main approaches to what was before and what will happen to us in the future."[176]
Surkov's party was tasked with "not just winning the parliamentary elections in 2007, but thinking about and doing everything to ensure the dominance of the party for at least 10-15 years to come." In order to maintain positions, Surkov advised members to "master the ideology" - and to do this, create "permanent groups for propaganda support in the fight against political opponents" in the regions. The term "sovereign democracy" became the core concept of Surkov's ideological platform. Subsequently, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev noted that he supported "genuine democracy ... or simply democracy in the presence of a comprehensive state sovereignty."[177]
Federal party projects were created on 13 November 2013. A party project is understood as a set of measures at the federal level, united by common goals, executors, and implementation deadlines, ensuring the achievement of the goals and objectives set by the party. The purpose of the federal project is to implement in more than one constituent entity of the Russian Federation initiative projects and programs relevant to all citizens of the Russian Federation aimed at modernizing primary health care, building new schools and kindergartens, developing road infrastructure, building sports and recreation centres and developing children's sports, development of patriotism and cultural values in society, development of an accessible barrier-free environment, assistance to the older generation, improvement of yards and public spaces, solving environmental problems, and development of the village and industry. To date, there are 15 federal party projects:[178]
On 19 June 2018, deputies of the State Duma from United Russia almost unanimously (except for Natalia Poklonskaya) supported in the first reading the government bill on raising the retirement age, rejected by the majority of Russians and all opposition factions.[179] According to earlier statements by its leaders, the party was categorically against raising the retirement age,[180] and against lengthening the working week[181] and increasing housing and communal services tariffs relative to inflation.[182] In the early 2010s, United Russia noted that the achievement of their team's work in power was the growth in the income level of Russian citizens by 2.4 times and the income level of pensioners by 3.3 times over ten years.[183]
When considering the draft budget for 2022–2024, the United Russia faction proposed the following amendments:[199]
In total, the deputies of the United Russia faction proposed to increase government spending in 2022-2024 by 107.6 billion rubles. The priorities were to support families with children and help the most vulnerable categories of citizens. The proposed amendments were taken into account when the budget was adopted.[200]
On 23 December 2002, Nezavisimaya Gazeta published a draft manifesto for United Russia, which, in particular, contained the following promises:
Our specific program is this: after winning the elections in December 2003, immediately in 2004, we will begin:
- an energy complex modernization program
- mass construction of individual housing
- a program for the development of a new transport network in Russia
- a technological revolution in Russian agriculture
- the rapid growth of incomes of all categories of citizens
As a result,
- in 2004 every resident of Russia will pay for heat and electricity half as much as now
- in 2005 every citizen of Russia will receive his share from the use of Russia's natural resources
- in 2006 everyone will have a job according to their profession
- by 2008, each family will have its own comfortable housing worthy of the third millennium, regardless of the level of current income
- by 2008 Chechnya and the entire North Caucasus will become the tourist and resort "Mecca" of Russia
- by 2010 the St. Petersburg-Anadyr, Tokyo-Vladivostok-Brest and other transport routes will be built
- by 2017 Russia will be the leader of world politics and economy
Are you saying it can't be? It will be! We, the United Russia party, will do it! For a thousand years, Russia has been the main element of world politics and economics. Will you say that the country is in decline and this will never happen again? We have social forces ready to support the revival of Russia. We are on the verge of explosive growth of the national economy and we will take this step. In 15 years, Russia will be the leader of the world economy and politics. And the whole world will see it.
Did the Russian bear sleep for a long time? We will wake him up. Is everyone waiting for the Russian Miracle? We will create it. Need a national idea? We have it.
— Maxim Glikin, Olga Tropkina. The party in power will provide everyone with housing // Nezavisimaya Gazeta 2002-12-23
United Russia did not accept this draft manifesto, but political opponents of United Russia repeatedly used it to illustrate the party's activities.[201][202][203][204] United Russia supporters claim that this manifesto is fake.[205] According to Dmitry Rogozin, "this is the most real final document of the seminar of the leaders of the regional branches of United Russia, proposed for discussion by the general council of this party."[201] Political journalist Oleg Kashin pointed to a discussion in his blog dated 17 January 2003 of the draft manifesto, located on the official website of United Russia.[206] Later, Kashin wrote that "Alexander Bespalov, who at that time headed the General Council of United Russia, soon lost his post and, as they said, the formal reason for this was precisely that slanderous manifesto, which since then United Russia has preferred not to remember, and its opponents, on the contrary, like to remember."[207]
Also noteworthy is the version according to which the draft is both a fake in the sense that it was not officially adopted and genuine in the sense that it was prepared by a group of United Russia political technologists, and the publication of the "raw" draft manifesto was a reflection of the intra-party struggle.[208] Political technologist Vyacheslav Smirnov, who in 2002 was a member of the campaign headquarters of United Russia, notes that the text was authored by a group led by the St. Petersburg sociologist Yu. Krizhanskaya:
This creation was written in front of my eyes in December 2002 by the St. Petersburg group of Krizhanskaya, who was Bespalov's deputy for the CEC. And it was sent out as a draft. The scandal was funny. At the General Council, the question was, "Who will be responsible for this in four years?" This "program" was tied to the Fusenko nozzle (it seems so) and the new physics of Dzhabrail Baziev (energy of the type), Yunitsky's autoplanes and string transport (this is exactly what the Brest-St. Petersburg-Anadyr string highway meant) <...> So this project had a big request for budget money. And they seem to have managed to convey it to the head of state. I don't know if Putin laughed or sobbed…[209]
Political scientist Pavel Danilin noted:
I don't know whether Putin laughed or sobbed, but Bespalov not only sent this document as a draft for review to regional offices but also, proud of himself, leaked it to Nezavisimaya Gazeta. And on 23 December 2002, Maxim Glikin and Olga Tropkina published the article "The Bears are for tourism in Chechnya!". The article says bluntly: "The editors of NG got a document that clearly claims to be a sensation. This is a draft manifesto of United Russia, which was discussed last Saturday at a meeting of the central political council of the party."
It was Bespalov's swan song since, by that time, Boris Gryzlov (head of the Supreme Council of the party) had come to lead the party. As early as 20 November 2002, Bespalov's powers as chairman of the General Council were curtailed. On 27 February 2003, he was fired at the meeting that Glikin and Tropkina wrote about, which actually took place. A month before their article, a decision was made on Bespalov's project that this project would discredit the party, and Bespalov should leave on good terms, which is what was done.
All this time, Gryzlov's team was preparing for the Second Party Congress and was preparing his program speech, which was adopted as the manifesto "The Path of National Success". I would like to draw your attention to the fact that program documents and manifestos are approved by the party congress in accordance with the charter. The congress was held on 29 March 2003 and approved a real manifesto, "The Path of National Success". No projects were considered on it. Bespalov's draft document was buried and forgotten a long time ago.
— Volodin, Oleg (19 October 2011). "Правда о 'манифесте Единой России от 2003 года'" [The Truth About the 2003 United Russia Manifesto]. PolitOnline (in Russian). Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
The manifesto, approved by the 2nd Congress of the All-Russian Political Party "Unity and Fatherland - United Russia" on 29 March 2003, did not contain specific dates, figures and promises, but in spirit and name "The Path of National Success" corresponded to the project.[210]
The goal is clear - any transformations in the economy should serve to qualitatively increase prosperity, the rapid growth of real incomes, and ensure the highest social standards of life for our fellow citizens. Transformations in the economy are a tool for building a genuine social state in Russia.
The revenues of the state must be placed in strict dependence on the incomes of its citizens. It is necessary to create a system based on the law of the distribution of state revenues in the interests of the majority of its population. This does not mean "take away and divide." This means producing, receiving income, paying everyone a decent reward for their work, and providing targeted assistance to those in need. This is the only way to form the majority that does not need daily state care, but provides its own prosperity and increases the prosperity of the state. This is the only way to overcome the oppression of the material disadvantage of a significant number of Russians.
The party considers it necessary to simultaneously solve the problems of developing a modern market economy and building a new, effective system of social protection. This means that the country's economy should be developed on a competitive basis, and the results of its development should be used on the basis of social justice.
A breakthrough in the economy is possible only when an optimal model of its development is formed.
This model should combine the further development of today's competitive sectors of the Russian economy, in particular, raw materials, with the modernization of high-tech sectors.
This is the creation of a full-fledged domestic market and the stimulation of domestic demand, and hence the high incomes of citizens that ensure this demand.
This is a decisive "inventory" of the country's production potential. We have no right to develop something that burdens the economy, hinders its development and has no prospects for competition in world markets. At the same time, the very geopolitical position of Russia requires the support of those sectors that ensure its security - military, food, environmental, information. The modern accounting approach to the economy should give way to strategic planning, the ability to see the economic perspective and unite the country's efforts around real points of economic growth.
This is the recognition of the unconditional priority of the development of all forms of organization of agriculture, the restoration of its production potential through a reasonable combination of budget support with market regulation instruments.
This is not only high rates of economic growth, but also the realization of the benefits of entrepreneurial freedom, primarily for the economically active part of the population - representatives of small and medium-sized businesses as the basis for the social stability of society and the formation of the Russian middle class.
This is an effective regulatory role of the state in the economy, which is the key to its successful development. We intend to pursue a policy of low taxes and high incomes. But for this it is necessary to combine the freedom of the market with the instruments of state regulation - budgetary and financial, monetary, legal, tax, rent. This is a budgetary policy based not only on the needs of the country, but also on protecting the budget of every Russian family.
This is freedom and order in the economy, when the state creates strict rules that ensure that every person is free to take care of his own destiny. Economically successful Russia is a country in which the principle of "well-being for all" is implemented. It is not very important for us what analysts and journalists will call our party.
They call us the "party of power" - we answer that we will definitely become the ruling party, the party of the new power.
We are called supporters of Putin's reforms - we answer that these reforms are vital for Russia.
— "The Path of National Success", manifesto of the United Russia party. Approved by the 2nd Congress of the All-Russian Political Party "Unity and Fatherland" - United Russia on 29 March 2003.
This document ended with the program slogan "We believe in ourselves and in Russia!".
According to studies, United Russia voters in 2006 were younger and more market-oriented than the average voter. The party's electorate includes a substantial share of state employees, pensioners and military personnel who are dependent on the state for their livelihood.[160] Sixty-four percent of United Russia supporters are female. In the run-up to the 2011 Duma elections, it was reported that support for United Russia was growing among young people.[211]
Foreign media and observers describe United Russia as a pure "presidential party", with the main goal of securing the power of the Russian President in the Russian parliament. The vast majority of officeholders in Russia are members of the party, hence it is sometimes described as a "public official party" or "administration party". Due to this, it is also often labelled the "Party of Power".[212]
United Russia is active in international activities, develops and strengthens ties with political parties of other states, and establishes constructive interaction and cooperation with them. To date, the party has 58 agreements on interaction and cooperation. In pursuance of the provisions of these agreements, constant bilateral inter-party consultations, exchange of delegations, participation in the work of congresses of partner parties, and holding forums and round tables are carried out. Joint consultations and exchange of information take place on the most pressing issues of our time, on the issues of bilateral relations, exchange of experience in the areas of party building, organizational work, youth policy, the use of new information and communication technologies in political activities, work in parliament and government, and other areas of mutual interest. The most important vector of international work is interaction with the political parties of the CIS countries. Contacts are also effectively developing on the Eastern Track, where strategic partnership relations have been established with the ruling parties of China and Vietnam. One of the most important areas of interaction between Russia and China is the cooperation between United Russia and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).[213] An important format of inter-party interaction, fixed in the text of the bilateral protocol, is the holding of dialogue meetings and the forum United Russia-CCP, regularly organized since 2007, alternately on the territory of Russia and China. In 2007, United Russia signed a cooperation agreement with the Kazakh Nur Otan party,[214] as well as the Ukrainian Party of Regions;[215] in 2008, with the South Ossetian Unity Party;[216] in 2010, with the Mongolian People's Party, which in the Soviet years collaborated with the CPSU,[217] as well as the Serbian Progressive Party,[218] the Kyrgyz Ar-Namys Party,[219] and the Georgian A Just Georgia Party.[220]
In July 2008, the media, citing Konstantin Kosachev and Boris Gryzlov, reported United Russia's entry into the Asia-Pacific branch of the Centrist Democrat International.[221][222][223][224] Representatives of United Russia also attended a congress of the center-right European People's Party, with which Mikheil Saakashvili, Yulia Tymoshenko, Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel, Silvio Berlusconi, José Manuel Barroso, and Herman Van Rompuy are associated, in December 2009, without formally applying for a membership.[225][226][227] The further fate of these relationships is unknown. However, a few years later, the party and its leader Vladimir Putin, according to several news agencies, began to increasingly actively oppose their ideology to the Western one and, at the same time, position themselves as conservatives (in world politics, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and George W. Bush are considered well-known conservatives). In 2014, journalist Alexei Venediktov characterized party leader Vladimir Putin's views as right-wing: "If Putin lived in America, he would be a member of the right wing of the Republican Party. Vladimir Vladimirovich is becoming more conservative, he is moving towards the conservative, reactionary wing of the Republican Party, much more to the right than McCain. McCain is a liberal by his side."[228] Russian political scientists and Western politicians have repeatedly noted the indistinctness and inconsistency of United Russia's positioning.[229]
In 2016, United Russia signed the Lovcen Declaration with the leader of the Montenegrin Democratic People's Party, Milan Knezevic, later joined by the leader of the Socialist People's Party of Montenegro, Srdjan Milic.[230][231] United Russia has signed cooperation agreements with right-wing populist parties, such as Freedom Party of Austria,[232] as well as the Republican Party of Armenia,[233] the Cambodian People's Party,[234] the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party,[235] and the italian League for Salvini Premier.[236] Its youth wing, the Young Guard of United Russia, has an alliance with the youth wing of Alternative for Germany, Young Alternative for Germany.[237] The party has also signed cooperation agreements with the Serb nationalist Alliance of Independent Social Democrats of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Estonian Centre Party[238] (though party leader Jüri Ratas recently claimed that the agreement has not been active for ten years and that there is no current cooperation between the parties).[239] The party has proposed a cooperation agreement to the Five Star Movement (M5S). The M5S never gave a proper answer to the proposal and it is currently unknown whether it actually accepted the proposal or not.[237]
United Russia has signed cooperation agreements with a number of big tent and left-wing parties, including Kazakhstan's Nur Otan party,[240] the Serbian Progressive Party,[241] the Mongolian People's Party,[242] the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party,[243] the People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan,[244] the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova,[245] the Lao People's Revolutionary Party,[246] the Communist Party of Vietnam,[247] South Africa's African National Congress,[248] the New Azerbaijan Party,[249][250] the Prosperous Armenia party,[251] the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region,[252] the Workers' Party of Korea,[253] the Communist Party of Cuba,[254] the Philippines' PDP–Laban party,[255] and the Latvian Harmony Centre Party.[256] The party used to have an agreement with the Latvian Social Democratic Party "Harmony", but the agreement lapsed in 2016 and was not renewed.[239]
Until 2014, United Russia was in the European Democrat Group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe alongside the British Conservative Party, Polish Law and Justice and Turkish Justice and Development Party.[257][258] United Russia has also signed cooperation agreements.
On 20 September 2012, the United States State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland announced that United Russia had for several years taken part in programs funded through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which the United States is implementing through the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI).[261] Member of the Presidium of the General Council of United Russia and the Federation Council of Russia Andrey Klimov, who oversees the interaction of United Russia with international organizations, said that United Russia has never taken part in any programs of USAID or its partner organizations.[262] Politician Boris Nemtsov responded that he had documented evidence of United Russia's cooperation with USAID.[263] Political scientist Sergei Markov, who worked for NDI in the 1990s, elaborated on United Russia's ties to USAID.[264] According to Konstantin Kosachev, United Russia maintains international ties with the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. In these parties, the maintenance of international contacts is entrusted to the IRI and NDI.[265]
The inter-party dialogue in the BRICS format has been actively developed in the 2010s.[266] The party attaches particular importance to such an authoritative association as the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP).[267] Today, this largest inter-party structure in the world has united over three hundred political parties of the Eurasian continent and has established strong ties with similar organizations in Africa and Latin America. United Russia not only actively participates in the work of the ICAPP but is also a member of its governing body - the Standing Committee.[268]
The largest forum of the ICAPP, its 10th General Assembly, was held in October 2018 in Moscow with the participation of 400 representatives of 74 parties from 42 countries.[269] The final Moscow declaration of the assembly contains an appeal to the world's parties to jointly fight against terrorism, extremism, and outside interference in the internal affairs of states and for equality, social justice, and mutually beneficial cooperation between countries and peoples. In July 2020, under the leadership of party chairman Dmitry Medvedev, a round table of representatives of the leading parties in Europe, Asia, and Africa was held on the issues of consolidating efforts in the fight against COVID-19 and its socio-economic consequences.[270]
In the summer and autumn of 2020, Internet conferences were held between United Russia and the political parties of the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, with public associations of Russian compatriots living on all continents, a meeting of international secretaries of African countries and the international commission of United Russia was held. At the party's initiative, on 24–25 March 2021, the first-ever international inter-party conference "Russia-Africa: Reviving Traditions" was held. Delegates from 50 leading African parliamentary parties, heads of state, and ministers participated in its work, and more than 12,500 people from 56 countries watched the discussions.[271]
As part of the preparations for the Russia-Africa: Reviving Traditions conference, as well as following its results, several agreements on interaction and cooperation were signed with the leading political parties of the African continent. United Russia is actively working to support compatriots living abroad. Thus, in the summer of 2021, several events took place in multilateral and bilateral formats, in which Russians living in all corners of the globe took part. To strengthen this vector, as well as inter-party work in the international direction in general, on the initiative of President Vladimir Putin, a commission of the General Council of the party for international cooperation and support for compatriots abroad was created. The commission's main task was to implement the provisions of the Foreign and Defense Policy section of the People's Program adopted at the 20th Party Congress in August 2021. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov became the chairman of this commission.[272]
On 28 April 2004, at the 12th Congress of the Agrarian Party of Russia, with the recommendations of the Chairman of the State Duma of Russia, Boris Gryzlov, a new chairman of the Agrarian Party, Vladimir Plotnikov, was elected. Since the election, the party began open cooperation with United Russia.[273] In 2008, the Agrarian Party of Russia announced its dissolution and joined United Russia.[274] In 2012, the Agrarian Party of Russia was re-established under the chairmanship of Olga Bashmachnikova, executive director of the Association of Peasants' (Farmers') Households and Agricultural Cooperatives of Russia (AKKOR), an association headed by Vladimir Plotnikov, a member of the Presidium of the General Council of United Russia.[275]
On 8 February 2010, A Just Russia, whose chairman in 2006–2011 and again since 2013 was the Chairman of the Federation Council of Russia (2001–2011) Sergey Mironov, concluded a political agreement with the United Russia party, in which both parties declared that they were committed to striving for coalition actions: A Just Russia supports the strategic course of acting President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin on strategic issues, and United Russia supports Mironov as Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. The parties to the agreement expressed their readiness to work together in resolving personnel issues, including those based on the election results, by concluding package agreements when forming governing bodies.[276] However, this agreement was annulled a month after the signing since, according to Mironov, United Russia did not fulfil the terms.[277] In March 2011, Mironov announced his refusal to support the candidate from the United Russia party in the upcoming 2012 presidential elections.[278]
On 18 May 2011, at the suggestion of the United Russia faction in the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, Sergei Mironov was recalled from the post of representative of the Legislative Assembly of the city in the Federation Council, thus losing the post of Chairman of the Federation Council,[279] as well as the mandate of a senator. A Just Russia endorsed the United Russia presidential candidate in the 2018 Russian presidential election and in the 2024 Russian presidential election.
On 20 February 2006, in Moscow, at the initiative of United Russia, 12 Russian political parties signed the so-called "antifascist pact". An agreement on combating nationalism, xenophobia, and religious hatred was signed by United Russia, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Agrarian Party of Russia, the Union of Right Forces, Socialist United Party of Russia, the Russian Party of Pensioners for Social Justice, Patriots of Russia, the Russian United Industrial Party, the Russian Peace Party, Civilian Power, the Party of Social Justice, and the Democratic Party of Russia. Acting United Russia General Council Secretary Vyacheslav Volodin called on all parties to unite around the pact, stressing that those who do not "should withdraw from political life and become pariahs." The Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Rodina, and Yabloko remained outside the pact, skeptically assessing the document, and the last two refused to participate in the pact due to the participation of the Liberal Democratic Party in it. The Communist Party refused to participate in the pact since, in their opinion, United Russia staged a PR on this topic to increase their party's popularity.[280]
In April 2008, United Russia amended Section 7 of its charter, changing its heading from Party Chairman to Chairman of the Party and Chairman of the Party's Supreme Council. Under the amendments, United Russia may introduce a supreme elective post in the party, the post of the party's chairman, at the suggestion of Supreme Council and its chairman. The Supreme Council, led by the Supreme Council chairman, defines the strategy for the development of the party. The General Council has 152 members, is the foremost party platform in between party congresses and issues statements on important social or political questions. The Presidium of the General Council is led by a secretary, consists of 23 members and leads the political activity of the party, for instance election campaigns or other programmatic publications.
United Russia introduced a local chapter system that mimicked the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) organization as a strong foundation for the one-party dominant system in the early 2000s. United Russia eagerly interviewed the LDP mission and studied their party structure. The number of party members was steadily increased by the introduction of the system.[281] As of 20 September 2005, the party has a total of 2,600 local and 29,856 primary offices. United Russia runs local and regional offices in all parts of the Russian Federation and also operates a foreign liaison office in Israel through a deal with the Kadima party.[282]
The officially registered charter of the United Russia party was available on the website of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.[283] In 2010, the Ministry of Justice website also contained the United Russia program dated 1 December 2001.[284] There is currently no mention of the United Russia program on the website of the Ministry of Justice. The current charter dates from 26 May 2012 and has undergone several changes compared to the 2001 charter.[285][286][287]
On the official website of United Russia, as a program of the party until September 2011, the "Election Program of the All-Russian Political Party "United Russia" "Putin's Plan is a Worthy Future of a Great Country"[288] was submitted, adopted by the 8th Party Congress on 1 October 2007. The previous election program, approved on 20 September 2003 at the 3rd Congress of the All-Russian Political Party "Unity and Fatherland" - "United Russia", is not available on the official website, but copies are available on other sites.[289][290] In particular, this program contained the following items:
Tightening measures against corruption and other offenses by employees of state bodies (especially law enforcement); … Finally, by 2008 we plan to achieve the introduction of visa-free exchange between Russia and the countries of the European Union, expanding cooperation within the Schengen regime. … The state policy of support and development of high-tech, innovative industries - the new economy of Russia. … Changing the structure of exports in favor of engineering products. … affordable housing
Also on the official website is the policy statement of United Russia, adopted by the 7th Congress on 15 April 2008.[291] In addition, on the official website of the United Russia party, there is a "programme document" called "Russia: let's save and increase!", adopted on 21 November 2009 at the 11th Party Congress in St. Petersburg.[292] The "programme document", in particular, states:
Our ideology distinguishes United Russia from opponents and adversaries. The party is guided by the principle "Preserve and increase". This is the basis of Russian conservatism. ... "United Russia" has proved that it is capable of ensuring the governance of the country, social and political stability. Today, at a new stage of development, the Party assumes historical and political responsibility for the modernization of the country, for the implementation of the national course - Strategy-2020.
"Strategy 2020" is in fact another program of the party; however, unlike other programs and program documents, it is not framed as a separate completed document. Putin spoke about the "Strategy 2020" for the first time at the expanded meeting of the State Council of the Russian Federation "On the Development Strategy of Russia until 2020" on 8 February 2008 in Krasnoyarsk.[293] The Strategy 2020 page has been removed from the United Russia official website but is still available on the Internet Archive.[294] "The official website of the expert groups updating the Strategy 2020" is located on the RIA Novosti web portal.[295] In May 2011, at the suggestion of Putin, then Prime Minister of Russia and chairman of the United Russia party, a coalition of public organizations with the participation of United Russia was created - the All-Russia People's Front.[296] The Front's and United Russia's election programs, the "People's Program", were approved at the 12th Party Congress of United Russia on 23 and 24 September 2011.[297] At Putin's suggestion as party chairman, the Institute for Socio-Economic and Political Research was created to prepare the Front's program, headed by Senator Nikolay Fyodorov,[87] but the final scenario has changed.
On 24 September 2011, acting President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin spoke at the 12th Congress of United Russia. Medvedev identified seven strategic priorities for government policy: modernizing the economy; fulfilment of social obligations; rooting out corruption; strengthening the judiciary; maintaining interethnic and interfaith peace and combating illegal migration and ethnic crime; the formation of a modern political system; internal and external security, independent and reasonable foreign policy of Russia.[298] Putin, in turn, set a goal for Russia to become one of the world's five largest economies and proposed writing off the erroneous tax debt of 36 million Russians in the amount of 30 billion rubles and raising salaries for public sector workers by 6.5% from 10 October. Vladimir Putin also noted that taxes for wealthy citizens should be higher than for the middle class and suggested raising housing and communal services tariffs only above the established norm. Putin also set as priorities the complete rearmament of the army and navy in 5–10 years, the doubling of the pace of road construction in 10 years, and the creation or renewal of 25 million jobs in 20 years.[80]
After Medvedev and Putin's speeches were met with stormy, prolonged applause, State Duma Vice Speaker Oleg Morozov suggested that these speeches be considered the party's program for the elections.[299] The congress unanimously approved the party's pre-election program proposed in this form for the upcoming Duma elections.[300] According to the authors of Gazeta.Ru, this is how the so-called "People's Programme", an extensive document that the institute of Senator Nikolai Fyodorov prepared all summer long, publicly collecting "instructions" of voters and recommendations of experts throughout the country, lost its pre-election status. The document was supposed to be presented at the congress but was absent without explanation.[299] Later, the Secretary of the United Russia General Council, Sergey Neverov, noted that the People's Program, or the "Program of People's Initiatives", published on 23 October 2011,[301] is considered by United Russia as a plan for the development of the country and should be considered as a whole with the program appeal of the party. Neverov said that United Russia's program address contains the strategic goals of the country's development set by Putin and Medvedev, and the "People's Initiatives Program" contains tactical steps to achieve these goals.[302]
On 14 October 2011, United Russia published a "programme appeal"[303] composed of replicas of speeches by acting President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at the party congress. According to Gazeta.ru experts, the document resembles a text from the Brezhnev era and is consistent with forebodings of the coming stagnation.[299] Later, the "programme appeal" was published with the addition "Approved by the 12th Congress of the All-Russian Political Party United Russia" on 24 September 2011" and the subtitle "Election Program of the All-Russian Political Party "United Russia" for the Election of Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the Sixth Convocation (Programme Appeal of the United Russia Party to the Citizens of Russia)".[304] The programme appeal, in addition to general words, contains the following specific points:
In the same address, United Russia nominated Putin for the post of President of Russia and Medvedev for Prime Minister. On 27 November 2011, after the closing of the second part of the 12th Congress of United Russia, at which Vladimir Putin was officially nominated as a candidate for the presidency of Russia, a document appeared on the official website of United Russia entitled "Election program of the United Russia party in the elections President of Russia".[306]
Party chairman Dmitry Medvedev presented a report on the party's work over the last five years at a joint meeting of the Supreme and General Councils of United Russia, which was held on June 9, 2021 in Moscow.[307] According to him, the vast majority of the provisions of the 2016 program have either been implemented or are under implementation. Among the achievements of the party, he noted amendments to the labor code, including those regulating the position of remote workers, supporting small businesses, regulating the status of the self-employed,[308] the adoption of a law on free hot meals for schoolchildren, on the priority right of brothers and sisters to go to the same school or kindergarten, and extending the maternity capital program until 2026.[309] At the same time, the process of reporting to voters the work of the past five years began at the federal and regional levels. Deputies from the party at all levels had to report to their voters about the changes that had taken place with the participation of United Russia.[310]
In August 2021, Secretary of the General Council of the party Andrey Turchak announced the annual report of the deputies of United Russia to his voters. This will become a mandatory norm for United Russia.
At the 18th Party Congress (December 2018), rules of conduct were adopted, binding on all party members. It highly recommends to:[316]
The people's program[317] of the party was prepared during the 2021 election campaign. It was based on the April message of President Putin and the results of a survey of more than two million Russians. Its totality is positioned as a plan for the country's development over the next five years. The collection of proposals started in June 2021,[318] and the website np.er.ru was explicitly created to receive feedback from voters.[115] President Putin took part in preparing the proposals and proposed some measures of social support for citizens and projects for the country's development at the second stage of the United Russia congress on 24 August 2021.[319]
All program points have passed preliminary discussions with experts, deputies, and officials of relevant departments. Among other things, some proposals were discussed in the created headquarters of public support with the participation of representatives of the federal five of the party list: Anna Kuznetsova, Sergey Lavrov, Sergei Shoigu, Yelena Shmelyova, and Denis Protsenko. The people's program of "United Russia" consists of two main sections: "People's Wellbeing" and "Strong Russia". Each includes topics covering all spheres of life of every inhabitant of the country. The "People's Wellbeing" section includes several blocks: "Good work – prosperity in the house", "Strong family", "Human health", "Care for all who need it", "Modern education and advanced science", "Convenient and comfortable life", "Ecology for life", "State for the human". The second section, "Strong Russia", includes such topics as "Economics of Development", "Rural Development", "Development of the Regions and Transport Infrastructure of the Country", "Culture, History, Traditions", "Civil Solidarity and Youth Policy", and "Foreign and defense policy". The program commission of the party, which includes party and external experts and representatives of relevant ministries and the public, will control the implementation of the People's Program.[320]
United Russia consists of regional branches, one per subject of the federation, regional branches from local branches, one per urban district or municipal district, local branches from primary branches, one per urban settlement or rural settlement. The supreme body is the congress; between congresses, it is the General Council (until 2004, the Central Political Council). The executive bodies are the Presidium of the General Council and the Central Executive Committee. The highest official is the Chairman. The supreme audit body is the Central Control and Audit Commission.
The supreme body of a regional branch is the conference of the regional branch; between conferences of the regional branch, it is the regional political council. The executive bodies of the regional branch are the presidium of the regional political council and the regional executive committee. The auditing bodies of the regional branch is the regional control and audit commission. The highest official of the regional branch is the secretary regional branch.
The supreme body of the local branch is the conference of the local branch. Between the conference of the local branch, it is the local political council. The highest official of the local branch is the secretary of the local branch. The executive body of the local branch is the local executive committee. The auditing body of the local branch is the local control and audit commission. The supreme body of the primary branch is the general meeting; between general meetings, it is the council of the primary branch. The highest official of the primary branch is the secretary of the primary branch.
The highest body of the party is the party congress. The congress resolves the most important issues, including the creation or liquidation of structural divisions, central and governing bodies, determines the main directions of the activity of the political association, and approves the charter and program documents. The congress makes decisions on the participation of the party in elections at various levels, including nominating and recalling candidates for the post of President of Russia and deputies of the State Duma, electing the chairman of the party, the head and members of the Supreme Council, the composition of the General Council and the Central Control Commission, and also makes decisions on early termination of their powers.
As a rule, the Congress is convened by the General Council of the Party or its Presidium once a year. An extraordinary congress may be convened by the decision of the governing bodies of United Russia or at the suggestion of more than one-third of its regional branches. In the entire history of the party, 20 congresses have passed. In 2020, the congress was not held due to the unfavourable epidemiological situation.
According to the charter of United Russia, the party congress has the right, at the suggestion of the chairman of the Supreme Council, to establish the highest elective position: the chairman of the party.[286] The position was introduced at the 5th Party Congress on 27 November 2004. The chairman is elected by open vote at the party congress; a candidate must gain two-thirds of the delegates' votes for election. The party chairman represents it in relations with Russian, international, and foreign state and non-state bodies and organizations, public associations, individuals and legal entities, and the media. The Chairman opens the United Russia congress, chairs its governing bodies' meetings, and also proposes candidates for election or appointment to some positions. Boris Gryzlov was the first chairman of the party.[321] On 7 May 2008, at the 9th Party Congress, non-partisan Vladimir Putin was elected chairman,[322] for which the charter was previously changed. On 26 May 2012, at the 13th Party Congress, Dmitry Medvedev was elected chairman of United Russia, having joined the party before the congress.[81]
The position of party chairman should not be confused with that of the chairman of the party's Supreme Council, who, according to the charter, "is the highest elected official of the party."[286] Since the introduction of this position in April 2008, Boris Gryzlov has been the Chairman of the Supreme Council of United Russia.[326] Initially, the party's governing bodies were the General Council (15 people), the Central Executive Committee, the Supreme Council, and the Central Political Council (liquidated in November 2004).
Consisting of 100 members, the Supreme Council determines the development strategy of the party and provides support for the implementation of the program and charter. In addition, it contributes to strengthening the authority and growth of the influence of the party in Russian society. The Supreme Council is elected from among prominent public and political figures of the Russian Federation who have great authority in Russian society and in the international arena, including those who are not members of United Russia. The elections of the Supreme Council, as well as its chairman, are held by open voting at the party congress.
At the party congress on 4 December 2021, 98 members of the Supreme Council were elected and two seats remained vacant. Almost half of the staff has been updated: it includes such people as the presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev, State Duma Vice Speaker Sergei Neverov, chief doctor of the hospital in Kommunarka Denis Protsenko, People's Artist of Russia Vladimir Mashkov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Russian Federation on Youth Policy Mikhail Kiselyov, First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection and Chairman of the Public Council of the Strong Family party project Olga Batalina, President of the all-Russian public organization of small and medium-sized businesses "Support of Russia" Alexander Kalinin, and General Director of the ANO "Agency for Strategic Initiatives to Promote New Projects" Svetlana Chupsheva. The Supreme Council also includes a number of regional governors.[327] The Chairman of the Supreme Council is Boris Gryzlov.[328]
The General Council directs the activities of United Russia between its congresses. It ensures the implementation of all party decisions, develops draft election programs and other documents, recommendations on the main directions of the political strategy, and directs the political activities of the party. To date, it includes 170 people (the number of members is determined by the congress), who are elected at the congress by secret ballot. At the same time, the composition of the council is subject to annual rotation of at least 15%, according to the charter.
The leadership of the General Council is entrusted to its secretary and presidium. The Presidium directs the party's political activities: from the development of draft election programs to organizational, party, and ideological documents. Its competence includes making decisions on convening an extraordinary congress and creating and liquidating regional branches. The presidium has the right to approve the budget of the party and also, on the proposal of the bureau of the Supreme Council, to submit to the congress a proposal to nominate a candidate for the post of President of Russia and nominate lists of candidates for deputies of the State Duma. The secretary of the presidium of the General Council directs the activities of the presidium and is authorized to make political statements on behalf of the party, put the first signature on the financial documents of the party, sign documents related to the competence of the General Council and its presidium. Sergey Neverov was the Acting Secretary of the Presidium of the General Council of the Party from 21 October 2010. On 15 September 2011, Neverov, at the suggestion of Putin, was approved as secretary.[329]
On 12 October 2017, Andrey Turchak became secretary.[330] To date, the Presidium of the General Council includes 35 people. Their number and personal composition were approved on 4 December 2021 at the United Russia party congress. Andrey Turchak was re-elected Secretary of the General Council.[331]
The Party Central Executive Committee is the main executive body, supervising the work of regional branches. It also organizes the work of several party institutions and is responsible for interaction with the United Russia faction in the State Duma. The term of office of the CEC expires after the completion of the regular elections to the State Duma, after which a new structure is approved at the party congress. Alexander Sidyakin became the head of the Central Executive Committee at the congress on 4 December 2021. From 2009 to 2011, Sidyakin was the secretary of the movement of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, the head of the department for collective action and the development of the trade union movement of the FNPR. In 2011, Sidyakin became a State Duma deputy from United Russia, where he worked as deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on housing policy and housing and communal services. After the 2016 elections, he became the first deputy head of the same committee and, in 2017, a member of the Presidium of the United Russia General Council. Many political scientists associated Alexander Sidyakin's appointment with his extensive experience in technological and legislative work and with the need to transform the central executive committee of United Russia into a permanent electoral headquarters.[332]
The Central Control Commission (CCC) is the control and auditing central body of the party, which monitors compliance with the Charter (except for ethical standards of the party), the execution of decisions of the central bodies of the party, as well as the financial and economic activities of structural divisions.[333] It is elected by the congress from among the members of the party by secret ballot for a period of five years by a majority of votes from the number of registered delegates of the Congress if there is a quorum. The Party Congress determines the numerical composition of the Central Control Commission. The Chairman of the Central Control Commission is the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, Irina Yarovaya.
Established in 2011 by the decision of the Presidium of the General Council of the party, the interregional coordinating councils' task includes coordination of activities, control and methodological support of the party's regional branches, and assistance in the implementation of electoral tasks.[334] In total, seven ICCs have been created per the number of federal districts:
Regional branches were created in all subjects of the Russian Federation, including Crimea.[335] Like the federal structure, the supreme political body of the region is the regional conference of the party, which approves the quantitative and personal composition of the regional political council and the presidium of the regional political council. The party's main executive body in the region is the regional executive committee. The chief political head of the regional branch of the party is the secretary of the regional political council. The head of the executive committee is responsible for the entire organizational component of the work of the regional branch. Local party branches are created in the region's municipalities and are accountable for their work to the regional party branch. They also consist of local political councils headed by the secretary of the local branch and local executive committees headed by the head of the local executive committee.
Since 2019, United Russia has begun to apply the practice of appointing regional governors as secretaries of regional political councils. In 2019, thirteen governors were appointed: Marat Kumpilov in the Republic of Adygea, Gleb Nikitin in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Aisen Nikolayev in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Andrey Travnikov in the Novosibirsk Oblast, Radiy Khabirov in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Kazbek Kokov in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Oleg Kozhemyako in the Primorsky Krai, Vladimir Vladimirov in the Stavropol Krai, Igor Vasiliev in the Kirov Oblast, Dmitry Azarov in the Samara Oblast, Alexander Bogomaz in the Bryansk Oblast, Andrey Chibis in the Murmansk Oblast, and Mikhail Razvozhayev, Acting Head of Sevastopol.[336]
The Young Guard of United Russia (MGER) is a youth public association with a fixed membership, founded on 16 November 2005. The Young Guard supports the party's course and acts as its personnel reserve.
In March 2010, United Russia launched interregional conferences dedicated to the socio-economic development of federal districts. The conferences aim to define a clear and concrete development plan for each region for 2010-2012.
The reality is that only United Russia is probably capable of this work today. First, due to the branching of its structures and the dominant position in local and regional authorities. She has the necessary organizational, intellectual, and political resources to solve such large-scale tasks and is ready to take responsibility to the country for implementing the plans.
— Vladimir Putin[337]
This involved the selection of extremely specific proposals and projects that could be implemented in the short term. At the conference's plenary sessions, the drafts were presented to Putin, who was then party leader. The first interregional conference was held in the Siberian Federal District in Krasnoyarsk (29–30 March 2010) and Novosibirsk (9 April 2010). It was called "Development of Siberia 2010–2012".[338] The second conference was held in the North Caucasian Federal District, in Nalchik and Kislovodsk, from 5 to 6 July 2010 and was called "Development of the North Caucasus 2010–2012".[338][339] The third conference, "Development of the Volga Region 2010–2012", was held in Ulyanovsk (9 September 2010) and Nizhny Novgorod (14 September 2010).[340]
The Interregional Party Conference of the Far Eastern Federal District "Strategy for the socio-economic development of the Far East until 2020" was held from 4 to 6 December 2010 in Khabarovsk. On it, Putin pointed out that one of the main problems for the Far East is the transport issue. He proposed significantly reducing flight prices within Russia and building new roads (in particular, by modernizing the Amur highway). He outlined the energy security of the Far East region as another significant problem. Putin promised to subsidize the supply of gas along the route Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok, which will significantly reduce the price for the end consumer.[341]
At a party conference in the Central Federal District in Bryansk (3–4 March 2011), Putin invited party members to declare income and expenses.[342] At the same time, specialists were asked to "think about the tools" of such control. Putin also demanded that the regional authorities restrain food prices, solve the problem of deceived equity holders by the end of 2012, and reduce the tax burden on small businesses. On 6 May 2011, the United Russia Interregional Conference was held in the Southern Federal District. It was held on the eve of the celebration of the next anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War in Volgograd. Putin again took part in the conference as party leader. To promote new business and social projects and support young professionals, Putin proposed the creation of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives;[343] he also proposed the creation and formation of the All-Russia People's Front.[344]
On 30 June 2011, the interregional conference in the Ural Federal District was held in Yekaterinburg. On 5 September 2011, the last Interregional Conference was held in the Northwestern Federal District. At the conference in Cherepovets, Vladimir Putin touched upon many socio-economic and political issues.[345] The acting prime minister also announced the need to form a petrochemical cluster in the Northwestern Federal District and support several projects in other regions of the district. During the five-hour conference, among other things, Putin proposed to allocate a lifting allowance of 1 million rubles to each young doctor working in the countryside and to organize a mortgage program for young teachers.[346]
According to the charter, the party's funds are formed from membership fees, federal budget funds provided per the legislation of the Russian Federation, donations, proceeds from events held by the party and its regional branches, as well as income from entrepreneurial activities, proceeds from civil law transactions, and other receipts not prohibited by law. Membership fees are voluntary. The Presidium of the General Council of the Party determines the procedure for making membership fees and accounting for their payment.[286]
Membership dues have never been the main source of income for the party. In 2002, the party collected 7.7 million rubles in membership fees; in 2008, it collected 157.8 million rubles (7.6% of the party's income).[347] Donations from individuals did not play a significant role for the party - in 2009, 0.3% of the proceeds to the party were received under this item.[348] The main funding source for the party in 2009 was donations from legal entities (63.8% of the party's income) and state funding (26.8% of the party's income).[349] Consolidated financial reports for 2005–2011 are located on the party's official website. Reports for 2005, 2006 and 2008 are not available, and the available ones are presented in non-textual form, which makes it impossible to search for information, including by search engines.[350]
Donations made violating the Law on Political Parties include donations from persons who did not indicate all the necessary data in financial documents and donations from state or municipal enterprises or organizations that do not have the right to do so. For example, as a result of checking information on the receipt and expenditure of funds from the Moscow Regional Branch of United Russia for the 2nd quarter of 2012, it was found that a donation was received on 30 May 2012 of 30,000 rubles from OJSC Sergiyevo-Posadsky Electricity Network, the founder of which (share - 100%) is the administration of the Sergiyevo-Posadsky municipal district of the Moscow Oblast.[354] The head of the district, V. S. Korotkov, is also the secretary of the local political council of United Russia.[355] Most of the donations come from regional public foundations to support United Russia. The funds do not disclose who exactly gives them money; however, according to the heads of regional funds, mostly representatives of medium-sized businesses make donations. According to them, there is no "coercion", as donors "contribute as much as they can and want" in response to a written or oral request.[356]
The Tula United Russia Support Fund, headed by the Deputy Governor of the Tula Oblast, Vadim Zherzdev, in 2009 collected the maximum possible 43.3 million rubles under the law. The Moscow Regional Fund, headed by Igor Parkhomenko, First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Moscow Oblast, raised the same amount. Chairman of the All-Russian Gas Society, State Duma deputy Valery Yazev, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, was listed as the founder of five regional support funds: Yamalo-Nenets, Chelyabinsk, Tyumen, Khanty-Mansiysk, and Kurgan (and collected 83.7 million rubles in total in 2009).[356]
In 2007, the largest donation came from Favor Capital LLC (19.9 million rubles), and three confectionery factories (Rot Front, Krasny Oktyabr, and Babaevsky) made the same contribution of 10 million rubles each. In 2009, the largest donation came from the OJSC "Moscow Television Plant Rubin" (43 million rubles); taking into account its subsidiaries, MTZ Rubin donated 47.8 million rubles.[357] In 2011, the largest donation came from CJSC Mikhailovcement (43 million rubles). According to the calculations of the Vedomosti newspaper, United Russia received 6 billion rubles in donations between 2005 and 2009, with Eurocement Group, Russia's largest cement producer, donating 253 million rubles, Mechel - 72 million, United Confectioners - 58.5 million rubles, and Motovilikha Plants - 48.7 million. With an annual profit of 2.1 million rubles, the Aksai Land enterprise managed to help United Russia with 30 million rubles over three years.[356][357]
According to Vedomosti, the Peresvet Bank for Charity and Spiritual Development of Russia, whose founders include the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Moscow Patriarchate and the Kaluga Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, supported United Russia for 30 million rubles in 2005-2007; it provided support in 2002–2004, but the amounts remain unknown.[356] In 2007, a letter from the secretary of the Kemerovo branch of United Russia, Gennady Dyudyaev, to the managing director of the Siberian Coal Energy Company was published on the Internet, in which he called the company's refusal to help the party with money a refusal to support the creative course of the incumbent President Vladimir Putin and promised to "inform the Administration of the President and the Governor of the Kemerovo Region about this."[358] On 5 March 2013, TV Rain announced that the Mosenergosbyt company, under the guise of charitable activities, transferred 300 million rubles to the Sozidaniye fund, associated with the United Russia party fund, created in early February 2013 to conduct regional election campaigns.[359]
At the end of March 2013, it became known that OJSC Yaroslavl Supply Company, which is a regional energy monopoly, transferred 55 million rubles to the United Russia Party Support Fund in just six months, which is approximately one-fifth of the company's net profit in the first nine months of 2012. The board of directors of the company, who unanimously voted for the allocation of funds, consists of the secretary of the political council of the Yaroslavl regional branch of United Russia, member of the Federation Council Viktor Rogotsky, and Dmitry Vakhrukov, the son of the former governor of the Yaroslavl Oblast Sergey Vakhrukov, who led the regional electoral list of United Russia in the 2011 State Duma elections.[360][361][362][363] This transfer was contrary to Article 30 of the Federal Law "On Political Parties", which prohibits donations from Russian legal entities with foreign participation to a political party.[364]
In 2014, funding for political parties from the federal budget sharply increased in Russia - now, for every vote received in the elections, the party began to receive 110 rubles (increased from 50 rubles before 2014). As a result, United Russia's revenues increased from 3.4 billion rubles in 2014 to 5.2 billion rubles in 2015.[365] In 2015, United Russia received 5,187,693,300 rubles (first place among political parties in Russia) and spent 4,292,304,600 rubles.[365] The main share of United Russia's income in 2015 was state funding (for votes received in elections) - 68.6% of income, the lowest percentage among parties that received state funding.[365] The party's spending structure in 2015 was as follows:[365]
From these figures, in 2015, the main expenditure of United Russia was the maintenance of the central leadership and regional branches of the party.[365] According to the report of the Golos movement, a third of the companies that donated more than 1 million rubles to United Russia in 2015 began to receive government contracts regularly and an order of magnitude larger than the amount invested. A similar connection was also found among patrons of the parties Communists of Russia and Patriots of Russia (who began to serve orders from the Russian Ministry of Defense). As RBC noted, the 2016 party primaries were won by eight company executives and private donors, who are among the twenty largest sponsors of the party.[366]
On 18 May 2013, at a joint expanded meeting of the supreme and general councils of United Russia, it was announced that party projects would become one of the main activities of the party in the coming period. Then it was first indicated that they would be financed from the federal budget with the participation of the Russian government, chaired by party leader Dmitry Medvedev.[367] Representatives of other political parties announced their readiness to apply to the Constitutional Court of Russia because they saw in these actions a violation of Article 13 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation ("public associations are equal before the law", "no ideology can be established as a state ideology").[367]
The symbol of the party is a marching bear. The party congress on 26 November 2005 adopted decisions on changes in the party's symbolism: instead of a brown bear, a white bear, outlined in blue along the contour, became the party symbol. Above the image of the bear is a fluttering Russian flag, and below the image of the bear is the inscription "United Russia". On 12 July 2001, at the Union of "Unity" and "Fatherland" founding congress, the symbol of the new party was presented - a bear in a cap.[368] Subsequently, it was never used again. The party uses the 1991–1993 Russian flag with an azure stripe in the middle instead of the current blue one.
At the beginning of 2005, several active members made a public presentation of so-called "socially oriented" and "right-liberal" or "liberal-conservative" approaches to the development of the Russian economy and society. Some media outlets hastened to announce the breakup of the party into several wings and possibly factions,[373] but party chairman Boris Gryzlov rejected this assumption, stating that the party should not be divided into left and right, "there are interests of the country, its citizens, and we are united in defending them."[374] As a result, the intra-party discussion in United Russia is focused on several ideological informal clubs.
The party has four internal groupings organized around common policy interests. In addition, the party uses four internal political clubs to debate policy: the liberal-conservative 4 November Club, social conservative Centre for Social Conservative Politics, conservative liberal State Patriotic Club, and liberal Liberal Club.[63] Based on this division, the party considered entering the 2007 Duma elections as three separate "columns" (liberal, conservative and social), but the idea was subsequently abandoned.
The goals and objectives of the club include:[375]
The club relies on the ideas formulated in the President's message to the Federal Assembly in 2005. The club's activities are concrete, pragmatic, and even "lobbyist" concerning those initiatives and actions that will be developed by the club or are consonant with its position. The club considers the party the most significant political partner but is a non-party platform. The club holds functions, including conferences, round tables, and seminars. A distinctive feature of the activity is the focus on the regions. One of the co-chairs of the club is the well-known journalist and editor-in-chief of the Expert magazine Valery Fadeyev.[376]
The non-profit partnership "Center for Social and Conservative Policy" is a private club for discussing social problems. It is a non-state and non-party organization, but each club member is somehow connected with the party and its faction in the State Duma of the Federal Assembly. At the same time, discussions within the club served as a medium for forming both currents in United Russia: liberal (Vladimir Pligin) and social (Andrey Isayev). The heads of relevant committees of the Duma, interested executive authorities, drafters of bills, and experts take part in the work of the "round tables" of the TsSKP, dedicated to certain areas of Russia's modernization.[377] The founders of the non-profit partnership "Center for Social Conservative Policy" are Leonid Goryainov, Igor Demin, Igor Igoshin, Andrey Isayev, Denis Kravchenko, and Konstantin Tarasov.[378]
The club's main areas of work are:[379]
The ideological basis for the SPC is the Political Declaration of the Club. The authors of the Declaration note that "democracy and the development of public institutions, a competitive economy, and a stable geopolitical position of Russia are impossible without a strong and responsible state that is in organic unity with society on the basis of national history and culture, national traditions." Among the experts who spoke at the meetings of the club at various times were: Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Andrei Fursenko, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Aleksandr Avdeyev, Minister of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu, Head of the Moscow Department of Education Isaac Kalina, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, film director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov, theater director Aleksandr Galibin, People's Artist of Russia Yevgeny Steblov, and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia Stanislav Naumov.
Regional branches of the State Patriotic Club operate in 42 regions of Russia. The coordinators of the club are State Duma deputies Irina Yarovaya and Grigory Ivliev.
On 18 March 2010, the first meeting of the United Russia liberal club was held, which included representatives of business and culture. The club, in particular, included businessman Vadim Dymov, musician Igor Butman, deputy head of the party's central executive committee Andrei Ilnitsky, State Duma deputy Vladimir Medinsky, State Duma deputy and lawyer Andrey Makarov, sociologist Olga Kryshtanovskaya, as well as some members of the 4 November club. The head of the public council under the presidium of the party's general council for interaction with the media and the expert community, Alexey Chesnakov, explained the formation of another liberal club in the party by the fact that the liberals "are not in the niche allocated to them by someone, even the best people." According to him, the difference between the new club and the already existing 4 November club is in organizational forms: a discussion platform without rigid membership.[380]
On the air of Radio Svoboda, Olga Kryshtanovskaya, answering a question about the tasks of the new right-wing liberal club, stated the following: "I would not say that the party declares that it needs such a new club. These are some members of the party, specific people have united because they feel that they are like-minded people. We are like-minded people, no one invited us anywhere. We just decided to create such a club ourselves in order to express our position. We have a common ideology."[381] The ideology of the liberal club is neoconservatism.
"The crux of the matter is that in terms of the reforms that we would like to see, we are liberals, but in terms of methods we are conservatives, that is, we are against radicalism and against breaking the system. All people who are involved in politics have a choice: to stand on the sidelines, criticize, grin that this is not done in the right way, or dare to enter power and try to influence it from within. Those people who are with me, who create this club, they adhere to this position. Yes, of course, we are not supporters of the destruction of the system, primarily because it will be bad for the people if everything collapses. But trying to influence, trying to modernize the party itself and the policy pursued, I think this is a normal task."
— Olga Kryshtanovskaya[381]
In 2012, following the results of the 13th Party Congress, a decision was made to transform the state-patriotic club into an independent patriotic platform of the party. Dmitry Medvedev also announced the need to restart the platform at the congress.[382] Irina Yarovaya, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, was approved as the coordinator. As part of the platform's activities, the work of the following federal projects was coordinated: IT Breakthrough, Libraries of Russia, Children's Sports, the Gardener's House is the Support of the Family, Historical Memory, Strong Family, Youth Anti-Corruption Project, People's Control, Runet Development, and Own House.[383]
On 5 April 2017, the Presidium of the General Council of United Russia approved Dmitry Sablin, deputy of the State Duma and first deputy chairman of the All-Russian Public Organization of Veterans "Military Brotherhood", as the coordinator of the party's Patriotic Platform.[384][385][386] The change of coordinator was connected with the need to intensify intra-party work and structural changes in the management of the platform.[387][388]
On 10 March 2016, the Entrepreneurial Platform was created, the co-coordinators of which were the founder of the Korkunov chocolate brand Andrey Korkunov, the head of the Splat-Cosmetics company Evgeny Demin, and State Duma deputy and Chairman of the Board of the Kuzbass Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tatyana Alekseyeva. The first two also entered the supreme council of United Russia. By the end of the month, a presentation of a program of priority steps to support business was promised, which will then be given to the government.[389]
After the 2003 parliamentary elections, United Russia, having accepted into its faction the deputies who passed through single-mandate constituencies, the majority of independents, all deputies from the People's Party and those who switched from other parties, received a constitutional majority, which allowed it to pursue its line in the Duma, not taking into account the opinions and objections of the opposition (CPRF, LDPR, Rodina, independent deputies).
The book Operation United Russia, written by Forbes and Vedomosti journalists Ilya Zhegulev and Lyudmila Romanova, describes the functioning of the United Russia faction in the State Duma:
Neither Putin nor Surkov succeeded in turning the nomenklatura into a party of creativity. Despite the ambitions of individual party bosses, no one abolished the system of manual control from the Kremlin either for United Russia itself or for its faction in the State Duma. And how else to manage three hundred deputies who are not united by a common ideology, or by common business interests, or even by common enemies, artificially gathered into one faction, perhaps with the sole purpose of ensuring the correct vote? In addition, not all United Russia members were ready to immediately believe the words of the new Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov, who said that "the parliament is not a place for discussion." In 2004, many tried to defend the interests of the companies that delegated them to parliament and the most ordinary common sense, and the punitive system has not yet been fully operational.
For the convenience of management, the huge faction was divided into 4 groups, headed by Vladimir Pekhtin, Vladimir Katrenko, Vyacheslav Volodin, and Oleg Morozov. The latter was the least organized - single-mandate members and "defectors" from other parties flocked here. Morozov himself complained to fellow deputies that he had gathered "dissidents". Most of the lobbyists and those who had their heads on their shoulders got to Morozov. This was difficult in the Duma.
The working day began like this: deputies come half an hour before the plenary session and receive "handouts". The main one is the table of issues put to the vote on the agenda. In the last column, it was already noted in advance how it was recommended to vote - "for", "against", or "abstain". That is, there was no need to discuss anything.
"Cushy work. And well paid. Those who voted correctly were entitled to a monthly bonus," says a former United Russia deputy. In addition to the official salary of 90,000 rubles, they also paid about $3,000 more monthly in an envelope from "socially responsible" entrepreneurs - companies that delegated their representatives to the Duma. "Not bad money for a man who does not have his own enterprise. But for the slightest fault they could deduct 50% of the allowance, or they could not give money at all. And everything was built on such things," the deputy says.
— [390]
After the Duma elections in 2007, United Russia again had a constitutional majority. The number of deputies in the United Russia faction amounted to 315 people. Due to the large size of the faction and to improve the efficiency of its management, four groups were created in the faction, the leaders of which are Artur Chilingarov, Vladimir Pekhtin, Tatiana Yakovleva, and Nikolay Bulayev. The leader of the faction was Boris Gryzlov. After the 2011 elections, the size of the faction decreased to 238 deputies, which, although it retained the ability for it to adopt federal laws without taking into account other opinions (quorum - 226 deputies), created the need to support other factions for the adoption of federal constitutional laws and amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation (the quorum for the adoption of which is 300 deputies). In the 2016 State Duma elections, held on party lists and in single-mandate districts, United Russia received a record number of seats for the party: 340.
United Russia has created an expert council for legislative activities, whose task is to evaluate all the initiatives of the members of the faction and their elaboration before submitting them to the State Duma. It included members of the governing bodies of the party, representatives of the faction, and party experts. The first meeting of the council took place on 14 December 2021.[391] Legislative initiatives are assumed to first come to the coordinating council for a preliminary assessment. Then, if necessary, they will be taken up by the working groups of the expert council, which will further develop the bills. The decision to create such a scheme was made on 10 November by the Presidium of the General Council of United Russia.
Since 2003, the Chairman of the State Duma has been a deputy from the United Russia faction: Boris Gryzlov (2003–2011), Sergey Naryshkin (2011–2016), and Vyacheslav Volodin (since 2016). First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma from the party included Oleg Morozov (2005–2011) and Alexander Zhukov (since 21 December 2011). Deputy Chairmen of the State Duma from the party are Olga Timofeeva (since 9 October 2017), Sergey Neverov (since 4 December 2011), Pyotr Tolstoy (since 5 October 2016), Irina Yarovaya (since 5 October 2016). The head of the United Russia faction in the State Duma from the party were Boris Gryzlov (2003–2011), Andrey Vorobyov (2011–2012), Vladimir Vasilyev (2012–2017), and Sergey Neverov (since 9 October 2017).
United Russia was the only political force that had not gone into isolation for a period of restrictive measures.[392] Party members helped doctors and provided support to the victims. The party has successfully established volunteer activities, deployed volunteer headquarters in all regions of the country, and initiated "social" lawmaking and the adoption of joint decisions with the government to support citizens and businesses. At the initiative of party chairman Dmitry Medvedev, more than 500 million rubles of membership fees and charitable donations were directed to support doctors during the pandemic.[393]
The party purchased and donated ten reanimobiles to needy regions for medical institutions in the Altai Krai, Kursk and Pskov Oblasts, and the Republics of Adygea, Altai, Kalmykia, Karelia, Mari El, Tuva, and Chuvashia.[394] Funds were raised to purchase 500,000 sets of personal protective equipment (gloves and masks) distributed among 67 regions. 10,000 protective suits were sent to doctors in the Jewish Autonomous Region, the Trans-Baikal Kra and Krasnoyarsk Krais, the Nizhny Novgorod, Pskov, Samara, and Smolensk Oblasts, and the Republics of Dagestan, Ingushetia, North Ossetia-Alania.[395] As part of the all-Russian action "Thank you to the doctors", the party donated 200 cars to medical institutions nationwide.[393] Through volunteer centers, specialists working in the red zone received about 360,000 tea kits.[396] The volunteer center in Stavropol donated 20 tons of drinking water to the hospital in Kommunarka.[397] The United Russia Volunteer Center donated five ventilators to one of the hospitals in the Lipetsk Oblast.[398] The regional branch of United Russia in the Novgorod region purchased 87 units of new medical equipment for the region's clinics, thanking the financial assistance of entrepreneurs.[399]
United Russia has significantly reduced campaign costs for the 2020-2021 elections and reduced travel and organizational costs, directing all its resources to help those who need it most.[400] Most party members, including candidates for the governor's chair, were active participants in the work of the party's regional volunteer centers. In addition to helping medical workers, United Russia supported teachers and students as part of the all-Russian action "Help study at home".[401] Schoolchildren in need were provided with tablets, computers, and laptops for distance learning. The party took on the task of organizing the collection of equipment, attracting major sponsoring partners, and distributing the collected equipment throughout the country. First, such assistance was provided to residents of rural areas, children from low-income and large families, and children from orphanages. As a result of the campaign, more than 500,000 schoolchildren and teachers from all regions where applications were received acquired the necessary devices for learning at home. United Russia launched a large-scale program to support the elderly, especially veterans. Volunteers delivered daily food, medicine, and essential goods, fulfilled many other pensioner requests, explained social support measures, and provided necessary psychological assistance. In some regions, it was possible to identify people needing constant outside care and organize home-based social services.[402] A two-way hotline was created: party representatives were engaged not only in receiving calls but also in calling veterans with the subsequent resolution of problematic issues. United Russia has agreed with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia that students' volunteer activities should be considered an educational or industrial practice.[403]
To help people during the pandemic, United Russia has created volunteer centers in all regions of the country. The first of them opened on 19 March 2020 in Kaluga.[404] The centers united more than 100,000 volunteers. This made it possible to provide targeted assistance to all those in need and reduce the burden on the state healthcare system and social services. The most demanded areas of work were auto-volunteering (delivering doctors to patients' homes), providing doctors in the "red zone" with hot meals and food packages, delivering free medicines to outpatients, supporting the elderly, and helping to organize the work of call centers. During the work of volunteer centers, the following was delivered:
Almost 1.7 million calls to the hotline and more than 1.1 million shifts by medical volunteers have been worked out.[405]
The all-Russian action #МыВместе (Russian: #WeAreTogether) and its headquarters united those who needed help during the coronavirus pandemic and those who provided it. Volunteers helped deliver food and medicine to those who applied to the "Hot Line". The We Are Together campaign's volunteer headquarters and hotline were launched on 21 March 2020.[406] United Russia and the All-Russian People's Front have become an infrastructure platform for Medical Volunteers and the Association of Volunteer Centers. First, headquarters were deployed in the regions, and then local volunteer organizations began to join them.
According to a poll by the Levada Center at the beginning of 2021, only 27% of Russians would vote for United Russia if elections to the State Duma were held in the near future. This is the lowest support rating for the party among all published polls since mid-2016. In August 2020, 31% of respondents were ready to vote for the party.[407][408]
A party that has been in power for many years always bears a heavy responsibility for all unresolved issues, including perhaps even those for which it is not directly responsible.
But the truth is that United Russia is a stabilizing element of our political system.— President of the Russian Federation (since 2012), leader of United Russia (2008-2012) Vladimir Putin, 2016
United Russia is not an ordinary public organization but a real political force: the party of leaders, the party in power. Almost the entire administrative elite is in your ranks: outstanding scientists and artists, public figures and entrepreneurs, representatives of all nationalities, professions and religions, veterans and youth. <...> United Russia will be able to achieve change only if it changes itself; I think this is an obvious thing. The party must always be modern to not become obsolete and not lag behind life and the voters.
— President of the Russian Federation (2008-2012) Dmitry Medvedev, speech at the 11th Congress of United Russia, 21 November 2009[409]
Our ideology is gradual and confident development, constant production, and accumulation of improvements. In the socio-economic sphere, this is the accumulation of social justice in a market economy. In the development of society, it is the accumulation of innovations, values, and human and social capital. It is the accumulation of democracy and trust in political institutions, primarily in elections.
— Secretary of the Presidium of the General Council of United Russia Vyacheslav Volodin, 2010.[410]
There was a final identification in the ideology field- active conservatism. The party has become a real driving force of modernization. It should ensure the creation of a national modernization coalition to carry out modernization. No political force has such a network of intellectual centers, including clubs.
— Director General of the Agency for Political and Economic Communications and United Russia ideologue Dmitry Orlov[411]
... Speaking of United Russia, it is useful to remember that the position of a critic is always more convenient, but this party is the backbone of a stable modern political system, with all its pluses and minuses. It is its members who perform a huge amount of routine work. Of course, there are no aliens - everything is not without birth spots, but it is ridiculous to blame only party members for this. It is important not to reduce the issues of the country's political structure to the demonization of United Russia and its members, especially since there are very different people there. Criticism is necessary, especially since the understanding of the viciousness of the one-party system reigns in society.
— TV and radio presenter Vladimir Solovyov, presenter of Russian socio-political programs on the Russia-1 TV channel, 2012[412]
…A spirit of unity was felt at the congress. The congress showed that this party is really powerful and strong. The atmosphere in Russian society today shows again that United Russia is the country's leading political organization and has many chances to win the parliamentary elections.
— Aydin Mirzazade, head of the delegation of the New Azerbaijan Party at the XII Congress of the United Russia political party (September 24, 2011), member of the Azerbaijani Parliament, 2011[413]
According to correspondence published in February 2012, employees of the central executive committee of United Russia (Sergey Gorbachev, Pavel Danilin, Alexander Dupin, Yefim Kuts), under the leadership of Alexey Chesnakov, have been creating custom publications (at least 250) since the spring of 2011 in support of the party and criticizing the opposition. Subsequently, these materials were published in several online publications (Aktualnye Kommentarii, Obshaya Gazeta, Newsland, Infox.ru, The Moscow Post, Utro.ru, Vzglyad.ru, Vek, Polit.ru) and paper newspapers (Argumenty i Fakty, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Moskovskij Komsomolets, Nezavisimaya Gazeta) under the guise of editorial texts and credited to fictitious names.[414]
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United Russia has no ideology, no clear program, but has two goals - to stay in the chair and stick to the main money bag - the budget.
— Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, 2010[415]
United Russia was created as a center-right, conservative party. True, the leadership of United Russia has taken several steps to the left, but this does not fundamentally change the situation. "United Russia" continues to vacillate between the positions of "statists" and liberals.
— Former Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and academician Yevgeny Primakov, 2012[416]
United Russia reminds me of a worse copy of the CPSU... Yes, they have everything. There is a parliament, courts, a president, a prime minister, and so on... and all this is on the ground. But you know - more imitation. There is no efficient operation.
— Former General Secretary of the CPSU, President of the USSR, and Nobel laureate Mikhail Gorbachev
United Russia is a euphemism for the state bureaucracy, a screen for using administrative resources.
— Vadim Sergienko, an expert at the Center for Problem Analysis[417]
In 2003, political scientist V. Bely called the party "a colossus with feet of clay" because, in his opinion, the main source of its strength is reliance on Vladimir Putin and power.[418] Some politicians believe that United Russia has become, or is becoming, similar to the CPSU.[419][420][421][422][423][424] In 2005, political scientist Vladimir Vasiliev, in an interview with the REGNUM News Agency, said that after making changes to the electoral legislation that are beneficial for the ruling party, "United Russia will turn out to be not a combat-ready army for Putin, but a convoy that needs to be saturated."[425] Opponents of the party often use ideological clichés in relation to it. In particular, the leader of the Youth Yabloko, Ilya Yashin, in 2004; the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Gennady Zyuganov, in 2008; and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, in 2015 used the expression "aggressively obedient majority" concerning the party and its faction in the State Duma of Russia.[426][427]
The party is criticized both in Russia and abroad. For example, The Washington Post claimed that United Russia "pushed through a series of laws that critics say are designed to prevent genuine electoral struggle and consolidate the party's dominance."[428] According to the adopted laws, parties must have their organizations throughout the country and have at least 50,000 members. According to a Washington Post journalist, "party registration is overseen by the Russian Ministry of Justice, which is accused of intimidating those who oppose the government. In order to secure representation in parliament, any party must obtain the support of at least 7% of the voters, and if it fails, the votes cast for the party are distributed among the larger parties, which increases the proportional share of parliamentary seats given to these parties. Political analysts believe that United Russia received the greatest benefit from the introduction of the 7 percent threshold." Party representatives, on the contrary, believe that "its policy leads to the creation of a competitive system of parties and may even weaken the position of the party in the next parliament."[428]
Commenting on the 2007 Duma election campaign, The Wall Street Journal wrote that United Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin received "huge amounts of airtime on Kremlin-controlled television channels" even though, according to the newspaper, the opposition's election campaign was taken off the air, and its publications were confiscated. The Wall Street Journal wrote that government officials pressured subordinates and directors of large companies to vote for United Russia and that, according to some allegations, company employees were instructed by management to photograph their completed ballot before putting it in the ballot box.[429] According to journalist Chrystia Freeland, published in The New York Times, "We have known since 1996 that Russia is not a democracy. We now know that Russia is not a dictatorship controlled by one party, one spiritual hierarchy, or one dynasty. This is a regime ruled by one person. "There is no party," said one of Russia's leading independent economists. "All politics is built around one person."[430]
The party has been repeatedly criticized for the lack of a real program. On 8 April 2011, Russian political scientist Gleb Pavlovsky, in an interview, in particular, said: "We see chaos, where no one is sure of anything: six months before the elections, the ruling party does not know what its program is and whose interests it will represent".[431][432] On 27 October 2011, Gazeta.Ru published an article titled Vacuum Bomb of Power. The authorities failed to come up with not only a program for the elections, but at least a more or less fresh idea", which states that the authorities admit that they do not have any program of action yet; that the "Program of People's Initiatives"[433] is not a program, but a set of wishes, considerations, which cannot be taken as a guide to action. "The programmatic appeal of the United Russia party", published on the website of the party, the author of Gazeta.ru calls "something" that the authorities also do not hold for the program of action, after the publication of which a joke was born in the circles of the political elite: "In the next election of V. Putin, the program will be a joke about V. Putin.".[434] Gennady Zyuganov, in an interview with Novaya Gazeta, spoke about the second stage of the 12th Congress of United Russia, held on 27 November 2011:
Yesterday's congress reminded me of the worst examples of mass meetings of the CPSU; however, the country was smarter, more powerful, and more independent then. At the Congress of United Russia, there was neither a serious analysis, program for the near future, interesting decisions, or honest assessment of what is happening in the world and our country. And absolutely no real proposals for the next six years of government - nothing to discuss. There is an attempt to wash off opponents by exposing them in an unfavorable light, which looks immoral.
— Gennady Zyuganov[435]
Former Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who once stood at the beginning of the creation of the party and left it, called United Russia a "political corpse".[436] Yevgeny Urlashov, mayor of Yaroslavl, June 19, 2013: "The United Russia party in the [Yaroslavl] region is the most corrupt, arrogant, and engages in blackmail, bribery, deceit, and hates people."[437][438] Notably, a month later, by the decision of the Basmanny District Court of Moscow, Urlashov was temporarily removed from office for taking a bribe; in 2016, he was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison with a sentence in a strict regime colony. United Russia's support for the raising of the retirement age in 2018 led to the party's ratings to fall to its lowest level since 2011. Mass protests against the measure were also held.[439] The pension reform also led to a negative impact on the party's performance in regional elections later in the year.[440]
United Russia has come in for criticism that it is "the party of crooks and thieves" (Russian: партия жуликов и воров, abbreviated as PZhiV, a term coined by activist Alexey Navalny in February 2011)[441][442][443][444] due to the continuing prevalence of corruption in Russia.[445] He argues it by the presence in the party of major officials and businessmen involved in corruption and criminal cases. In October 2011, Novaya Gazeta published an article describing how members of the public were writing the slogan on banknotes in protest.[446] In December 2011, Putin rejected the accusation of corruption, saying that it was a general problem that was not restricted to one particular party: "They say that the ruling party is associated with theft, with corruption, but it's a cliché related not to a certain political force, it's a cliché related to power. ... What's important, however, is how the ruling government is fighting these negative things".[445] A poll taken in November 2011 found that more than one-third of Russians agreed with the characterisation of United Russia as "the party of crooks and thieves".[447]
After the 2011 legislative elections, a few leaders within United Russia called for investigations of fraud and reform of the party.[448] According to the Levada Center in April 2013, about half of Russians agreed with this characterization of the party.[449][450][451] On 28 September 2010, Boris Nemtsov spoke about United Russia on the air of Radio Liberty, saying that "all the people know that this is a party of thieves and corrupt officials."[452] According to the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, he used this expression back in 2009, and Nemtsov simply intercepted these words.[453] In April 2013, during a sociological survey conducted by the Levada Center, the majority of Russians surveyed (51%) agreed with the characterization of United Russia as a "party of crooks and thieves."[454]
The support in the summer and autumn of 2018 by the Duma deputies from the United Russia party of the government bill on changes in the pension system, which boils down to raising the retirement age,[455] sharply reduced the level of public confidence in the party,[456][457] as well as in the president and the Government of Russia. In the eyes of many ordinary citizens, belonging to the "United Russia" has become a fact that discredits the politician, and not belonging, on the contrary, has become a virtue. This, in particular, affected the gubernatorial elections in a number of regions in September 2018, where candidates from the opposition parties won with a significant advantage.[458]
During regional elections and elections of mayors of Russian cities in March 2009, individual cases of voter bribery, falsification of voting results in favor of some representatives of the United Russia party, and their use of negative campaigning were recorded. On 1 March 2009, police in Murmansk detained a group of citizens distributing bottles of vodka to voters in exchange for votes for United Russia candidate Mikhail Savchenko, the current mayor of Murmansk. One of the detainees wrote to the police that he had personally received 600,000 rubles to organize the bribery.[459] In Karachay-Cherkessia, according to the protocol of precinct No. 50, out of 2,664 voters,[460] 1,272 voters (47.8%) voted for United Russia, and in the protocol of the Republican Election Commission (RIC) in the same precinct, 2,272 votes for United Russia were already listed (85.3%).[461] The votes were taken from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Patriots of Russia party. Following a decision of the city court of Cherkessk, 1000 votes were taken from United Russia and distributed between the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Patriots of Russia.[462] During the elections of the mayor of Tomsk on 15 March 2009, on the personal instructions of the chairman of the regional election commission, Yelman Yusubov, it was impossible to demand from the voter a document (a business trip order, a travel document, a referral to a doctor, etc.) confirming his absence on the day of voting at his place of residence, which led to mass illegal early voting of students and significantly affected the outcome of voting in favor of the United Russia candidate, Mayor Nikolai Nikolaychuk, who, according to official data, won the election.[463]
A telephone poll conducted by the local television company TV2 in the Rush Hour program showed that opposition candidate Alexander Deyev was winning the mayoral election by a wide margin, after which there were immediate failures at the city telephone exchange, and the poll was disrupted. In one of the maternity hospitals, women in labor were forced to vote for Nikolaichuk; otherwise, their babies were threatened with harm. In the lists of voters now and then, there were unidentifiable people registered in the apartments of the townspeople. Some residents of Tomsk were surprised to see the names of their deceased neighbors among those who voted. As a result of such machinations, the turnout of voters from 17:00 to 19:00 sharply increased by 7,000 people. Representatives of the electoral committee then could not clearly explain this fact.[464] Even before voting legally ended at 20:00, the sign of "Mayor Nikolaychuk Nikolai Alekseevich" was hung in the administration of Tomsk.[465] In the reception room of the United Russia deputies of the regional and city dumas Chingis Akatayev[466] and Denis Molotkov,[467] newspapers with negative press directed against Deyev were found.[468][469] Tomsk Governor Viktor Kress, fearing that the candidate from the party in power would lose the election, put pressure on voters, saying several times on local TV channels that he would not work with the mayor if opposition self-nominated Alexander Deyev became the mayor.[470] Moreover, he slandered Deyev, saying that he was convicted.[471][472]
According to the CEC of the Russian Federation, United Russia won 77.3% of the vote in the municipal elections in St. Petersburg. On 30 March 2009, Anton Chumachenko, a member of United Russia, who allegedly won in one of the districts of St. Petersburg, in an open letter to the residents of the Morskoy district, called the methods of his fellow party members "a cynical mockery of the right", stating that "the results of the vote in our district were frankly rigged. From all the protocols of the six precinct election commissions, it follows that I was not included in the top five candidates who received the majority of votes."[473] Yabloko candidate Boris Vishnevsky, whose victory appeared on the CEC website the night after the election (according to zaks.ru)[474] but then disappeared, claimed that the votes were allocated to his rivals from United Russia. During the election campaign for the post of head of the city of Vologda (2008), candidate Alexander Lukichev (a member of the A Just Russia party) was removed from the election on charges of violating intellectual property rights. Ye. Shulepov, a United Russia candidate, won the election.[475]
The party has been repeatedly accused of illegal use of administrative resources (for example, the so-called campaign assignments to recruit supporters).[476][477][478][479][480][481][482] One of the well-known cases was the confession of the mayor of Khabarovsk, Alexander Sokolov, before the Duma elections in 2007: "Given the special role of United Russia, we recommended that the chairmen of precinct commissions join the party."[483] In addition, precedents were recorded in the Duma elections of 2007, when up to 109% of votes were for United Russia. There were cases of massive ballot stuffing, forcing students to vote under the threat of failing exams, etc.
On 7 October 2011, the leader of the A Just Russia party, Sergey Mironov, published on his blog a copy of an internal document of the St. Petersburg headquarters of United Russia, which describes in detail the technologies for falsifying the protocols of precinct election commissions and instructions for stuffing ballots in the 2008 presidential elections in Russia.[484]
I tend to trust this document. We are faced with the fact that at the polling station, they give out a deliberately inaccurate copy of the protocol: either the seal is not the same, then the time is not the same, then not all the names are indicated, then not all members of the commission. Our observers take copies in which all figures are correct. And then they refuse us in court because the copies of the protocols do not correspond to the “original”. In particular, when the communists tried to challenge the results of the 2009 elections in court, 800 claims were dismissed on similar grounds.
— Head of the legal service of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Vadim Solovyov to Moskovskiye Novosti[485]
In the presidential elections of Russia on 2 March 2008, such violations were noticed as giving a bribe to an observer, multiple voting by one person (and without documents), and issuing already filled-out ballots to voters.
By the start of the 2011 federal election campaign, Gazeta.Ru and the Association for the Protection of Voters' Rights GOLOS launched an interactive map of law violations, which any participant in the elections could take part in creating.[486] As of 7 November 2011, there were 956 messages in the database of the map of violations, of which 403 related to "using the possibilities of power to create advantages"; as of 1 December 2011, 4316 and 1674 in total; according to the results of the elections, 7801 and 2024.[487] United Russia then created a website to "confront opposition violations" in the elections.[488]
On 24 October 2011, on the website of State Duma deputy Gennady Gudkov, the abstracts of the report were published, which the governor of the Moscow Oblast, Boris Gromov, allegedly delivered on 6 October 2011 in the Odintsovo district. Gudkov considered this report a "plan for preparing election fraud" in the Moscow Oblast.[489] According to him, in the report, Gromov called: "to aim local administrative bodies and the apparatus of administrations to suppress any attempts to violate the electoral legislation", "to contribute to the filling of financial resources", "to try to limit opponents in advertising", and "to pay attention to pre-election work in municipalities where the positions of United Russia are not so unambiguous."[490] According to Gudkov, the violations are not limited to one report: on 15 September, the Minister of Press and Information of the region, Sergey Moiseyev, "instructed" 56 chief editors of regional and municipal media in approximately the same style.[491]
On 24 October 2011, the Election Commission of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast warned United Russia in the Jewish Autonomous Region for placing banners violating the electoral law.[492] On 27 October 2011, a video appeared on the Internet where Denis Agashin, a member of the General Council of United Russia and the head of the administration of the city of Izhevsk, called on pensioners to vote for United Russia, saying that the financing of the city depends on the results of the vote. Sergei Zheleznyak, First Deputy Secretary of the Presidium of the General Council of the United Russia party, said that Agashin is not a candidate for deputy from the party and held a meeting with representatives of veteran organizations "on his own initiative."[493] On 18 November 2011, the Leninsky District Court of Izhevsk found Agashin guilty of illegal campaigning and fined him 2,000 rubles.[494] On 5 November 2011, the head of the administration of the President of Udmurtia and the government of the republic, Alexander Goriyanov, announced on camera the scheme "money for votes in favor of United Russia":
Sarapul was given 30 million for roads and sidewalks this summer. Glazov was given ten. In the previous elections, Glazovites, we ourselves refused these twenty million from those good roads you could drive on. And it won't be different. Because the projects, in general, in the country, many various projects are supervised by United Russia. And they determine how to work with which territory.
— [495]
According to the aforementioned First Deputy Secretary of the Presidium of the General Council of the Party, Sergei Zheleznyak, it is quite logical to link the socio-economic development of a region or municipality with United Russia since it is United Russia that proposes budget projects related to the socio-economic development of the region and votes for them.[496] According to the Kommersant newspaper, since 2 November, a "signature collection form in support of United Russia" has been distributed among Voronezh civil servants, in which the regional governor Alexey Gordeyev asks to support the party in the elections to the State Duma. As a sign of consent, officials must put their signature under this, having previously indicated their addresses and telephone numbers.[497][498]
According to the news agency URA.ru, on the evening of 5 November in Yekaterinburg, police detained a resident, Daniil Kornev, on whose car there was a sticker, privately made by the townspeople, with the well-known aphorism of blogger Alexei Navalny "United Russia is a party of crooks and thieves" and an image of a bear with a bag in its mouth against the backdrop of a map of Russia. An administrative offense report was drawn up against him (Part 1 of Article 5.12 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses "Production, distribution or placement of campaign materials in violation of election legislation"), from which it follows the sticker is campaigning for United Russia not paid for from the election fund, and a subpoena was served. In Pervouralsk, local businessman Vitaly Listratkin was fined 1,000 rubles for distributing forty mugs with a statement about United Russia. On 31 October, at the office of the Parnassus branch in Yekaterinburg, law enforcement officers seized a batch of stickers with Navalny's phrase and a computer.[499]
On 6 November 2011, journalist and blogger Oleg Kozyrev discovered an almost complete "confusing" similarity between the campaign materials of United Russia and the Moscow Electoral Commission.[500] Subsequently, it turned out that under the slogan "Moscow for life, for people" and the design accompanying it, there was a simultaneous advertising campaign, firstly, by the Moscow government, secondly, by the Moscow City Electoral Committee, and thirdly, by the United Russia party.[501] The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and the Moscow City Electoral Committee did not find any contradictions to the electoral legislation in that the election billboards of the United Russia party are similar to the Moscow City Electoral Committee's public service announcements dedicated to the December elections.[502] A similar point of view was expressed by Senator Valery Ryazansky, member of the Bureau of the Supreme Council of the United Russia party, on Echo of Moscow radio:
… yes, there is some similarity, as they say, but I say again that per the law, the party that decides to hang billboards coordinates their sketches with a mandatory commission. Therefore, there can be no claims against United Russia.
— [503]
Also on 6 November 2011, a video appeared on the Internet with information that in Murmansk, United Russia members concluded agreements for "self-agitation" at 1,500 rubles per vote given to the party and 250 rubles per brought friend.[504][505] On 23 November 2011, Novaya Gazeta published an article about the correspondence between United Russia, the department for the media, press, broadcasting, and mass communications of the Krasnodar Krai, Internet trolls, and regional officials, from which it follows that pro-United Russia comments in the blogosphere are most often written by officials and deputies for money, and that United Russia is conducting its election campaign in the Kuban with a blunt and blatant use of administrative resources. The election posters of the ruling party, which are hung all over the country, are pasted during working hours by the same officials who are united by Internet mailings conducted by the Kuban media department on instructions from Moscow.[506]
On 23 November 2011, Gazeta.ru published an article with a transcript of a closed speech by Alexander Aksyonov, head of the Sokolinaya Gora District Council in Moscow. The transcript explains in detail how the plan to collect votes for United Russia should be carried out. Aksyonov demands the heads of enterprises collect absentee certificates from their subordinates and hand them over to officials so that United Russia can gain 58% in the elections in Moscow (even though according to a closed Foundation "Public Opinion" poll conducted at the start of the campaign and published in Gazeta.ru, United Russia had a rating of 29% in Moscow).[507] According to RIA Novosti, the Moscow City Electoral Committee stated that the information contained in the article "is unfounded" and that the audio recording raises doubts about its authenticity.[508]
On 21 December 2011, a member of the regional political council of United Russia, Vladimir Semago, appeared in Novaya Gazeta with an article titled "This is not a falsification of the election results, but a conspiracy to forcibly retain power". In the article, he stated that a group of conspirators created a criminal community to rig parliamentary elections to retain power. The community included the CEC headed by Vladimir Churov and the chairmen of grassroots election commissions. Similar communities were created at the regional level in executive power structures. The conspirators' activities received support from the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and, most likely, were coordinated at the very top. Such actions fall under articles 210 and 278 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and are punishable by imprisonment from 10 to 20 years.[509]
Scientists from the Medical University of Vienna have proposed a method for assessing the presence of electoral fraud. As a result, they proved that there were falsifications in the elections of the Russian President in 2012 and to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in 2011; in particular, ballot stuffing for some candidates. The article appeared in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and is available in the public domain.[510][511]
Former co-chairman of the Party Supreme Council Yury Luzhkov, who left the party simultaneously with a resignation from the post of mayor of Moscow, speaking on 21 October 2010 as a dean of the International University in Moscow with the lecture "Development of Moscow and the Renaissance of Russia" and answering questions from the audience, said that he was always wary of United Russia since there were no democratic institutions. "The irony of fate: I am one of the founding fathers of the United Russia party. My attitude towards it has always been warily critical." "I always told the party chairman Boris Gryzlov that we have no discussions. We always and in everything obey the administration." "When the 122 federal law on the monetization of benefits was adopted, there were two thousand comments to it; we accepted it without discussion. Then there was the popular phrase: Duma is no place for discussions. You can not do it this way!". "The party is a servant, and I left it," Luzhkov concluded.[512]
Other famous personalities that left the party include State Duma deputy (2000-2016) and ex-governor of the Krasnoyarsk Krai Valery Zubov, State Duma deputy (1999-2005) and ex-governor of the Chelyabinsk Oblast Mikhail Yurevich, ex-head of Khakassia Aleksey Lebed, ballerina and actress Anastasia Volochkova, farmer and politician Zhoakim Krima, writer Yevgeny Kasimov, General Yevgeny Yuryev, former State Duma deputies Vladimir Semago and Anatoly Yermolin, director of the Lenin State Farm CJSC and, at the time of leaving the party, the operating deputy of the Moscow Oblast Duma Pavel Grudinin, former State Duma deputy Igor Morozov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Irkutsk Region Alexander Bitarov, former head of the Bolshaya Okhta municipality of St. Petersburg Nikolai Payalin, ex-head of the administration of several St. Petersburg regions and brother of politician Arkady Dvorkovich Mikhail Dvorkovich, and cousin of Vladimir Putin Igor Putin.[513]
In addition to criminal grounds in some cases (see below), for political reasons, the Governor of the Stavropol Krai Alexander Chernogorov, the mayor of Volgograd Roman Grebennikov, and mayor of Tula Alisa Tolkacheva were excluded from the party.[514]
In 2015, almost a hundred people in Kopeysk left United Russia. All employees who left the party worked at three Kopeysk enterprises: Gorvodokanal CJSC, Kopeysk Treatment Plant LLC, and Kopeysk Water Supply Networks LLC. The employees of these enterprises have not been paid salaries for a long time since the organizations do not have the funds for this. Employees blamed the head of Kopeysk, Vyacheslav Istomin, for the lack of money. According to the employees of the enterprises, their complaints about the situation were ignored. This prompted them to write a statement about leaving the party.[515]
In 2021, in the Altai Krai village of Stepnoye, more than 120 employees of the Kuchuksulfat plant simultaneously left the United Russia party. According to these employees, because of the current situation with the plant, they are worried about the possible change of the owner of the enterprise and afraid of a raider seizure of the enterprise, and they do not see any actions from the party to help resolve the issue.[516][517][518]
On 16 December 2022, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, United Russia was included in the EU sanctions list. According to the European Union, the party supported Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine and the annexation of Ukrainian territories; thus, the party is responsible for supporting actions that undermine or threaten Ukraine's territorial integrity and independence.[519][520] All party assets in the European Union will be frozen, and any member of these parties will be banned from entering the EU.[519] On 24 February 2023, United Russia was included in the sanctions list of Canada.[521]
{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)Meanwhile, the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, is currently dominated by members of the current ruling right-wing political party United Russia.
Here are the two main parties, the 'Right-Wing' United Russia and the 'Statist' CPRF (Communist Party). United Russia was created in 2001 from the union of the Unity and Fatherland parties. Their 'Right-Wing' position in the frontier of 'Leftist' groups shows how hard it is to define United Russia but it is definitely trying to move Russia toward capitalism with stability.
When United Russia held its 11th Congress at St Petersburg in December 2009, with Putin now party leader, its official ideology became a 'Russian conservatism', although one that would be based on the country's 'own history, culture and spirituality' and which would also seek to strengthen its 'sovereignty'.
{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help){{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)The party of power in Russia has not achieved ... single-minded mastery of the power and wealth associated with the control of patronage. The party is united only in its support for and dependence on the Kremlin; it is divided when its principal clients take opposing sides. ... United Russia is not a programmatic party, but a mechanism for extracting rents and distributing patronage. ... In Russia, the party is the creature of the presidency. ... [T]he construction of a lasting party of power such as united Russia requires a sustained commitment on the part of the authorities, one which president Putin has been willing to undertake. ... [T]he concerted effort by President Putin's administration to build up a lasting party of power is a significant development in post-1993 Russian politics ... .
{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)With the March 2000 election of President Vladimir Putin, ... the suspicion was that ... institutional changes 'could resurrect a system dominated by a single "party of power"' (McFaul 2000, 30). ... Still, Russia's electoral system remained largely unchanged for the 2003 Duma election, although the results certainly fuelled speculation that a dominant-party-state had begun to emerge. ... With the union of Fatherland-All Russia and Unity, Russia's party of power had changed once again, this time emerging as United Russia. The 2003 Duma election provided some evidence that the electoral system was working in the party of power's favour.
3. Donations to a political party and its regional branches are not allowed from:
d) Russian legal entities with foreign participation, if the share (contribution) of foreign participation in their authorized (share) capital exceeds 30 percent on the day the donation is made (for open joint-stock companies - on the day the list of persons entitled to participate in the annual general meeting of shareholders for the previous financial year)
— Federal Law on Political Parties No. 95-FZ of 11 July 2001
