Our Home Is Russia
Encyclopedia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n political party between 1995 and early 2000.
Our Home – Russia was founded in 1995 by then Russian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Russia
The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation The use of the term "Prime Minister" is strictly informal and is not allowed for by the Russian Constitution and other laws....
Viktor Chernomyrdin
Viktor Chernomyrdin
Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin was the founder and the first chairman of the Gazprom energy company, the longest serving Prime Minister of Russia and Acting President of Russia for a day in 1996. He was a key figure in Russian politics in the 1990s, and a great contributor to the Russian...
. It was a liberal, centrist political movement, founded for the purpose of rallying more technocratic-reformist (right-wing) government supporters. At the time of its founding, Chernomyrdin had the backing of Russian president Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
along with numerous large financial institutions such as Association of Russian Banks, and major companies such as Gazprom
Gazprom
Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company. Its headquarters are in Cheryomushki District, South-Western Administrative Okrug, Moscow...
, of which he was formerly the chairman. The movement attracted the sympathies and interests of many prominent members of the ruling elite of Russia, and NDR was thus nicknamed "the party of power". It was also known as the party of the Oligarchs
Russian oligarchs
Business oligarch is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate", borrowed by the English speaking and western media from Russian parlance to describe the huge, fast-acquired wealth of some businessmen of the former Soviet republics during privatization in Russia and other post-Soviet states in...
, the position previously identified with another political party, Russia's Choice
Democratic Choice of Russia
The Democratic Choice of Russia was a Russian political party that existed from 1994 to 2001.-Background and Establishment:...
. Two other parties were interested in cooperating with NDR after its foundation: parts of the Agrarian Party of Russia and Democratic Choice of Russia
Democratic Choice of Russia
The Democratic Choice of Russia was a Russian political party that existed from 1994 to 2001.-Background and Establishment:...
. Together their platform would promote "freedom, property, and legality", and would favor such policies as reducing the state's role in the economy, support for small businesses, privatization of agriculture, and military cutbacks. However, after Chernomyrdin's candidacy for a second term as Prime Minister was rejected by the Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
, Our Home – Russia declined the other parties' bid for cooperation.
Although it was critical of the war in Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
, Viktor Chernomyrdin and NDR played a central role in supporting Yeltsin in his 1996 bid for re-election as President of the Russian Federation. "To sum up why Our Home – Russia is for Yeltsin, I can say only one thing--because we are for reforms, for the constitution of Russia, for peace in Chechnya, for a normal life in Russia," Chernomyrdin told Itar-Tass news agency in 1996.
In the spring of 1998, Yeltsin removed Chernomyrdin as head of government and in 1999 Yeltsin's administration backed a newly formed party, Unity, instead of Our Home – Russia. As a result, Our Home – Russia, which had 55 seats in the Russian State Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
in 1995-1999, won only 8 seats in the December 1999 election. It did not form a separate faction in the next Duma and merged with United Russia
United Russia
United Russia is a centrist political party in Russia and the largest party in the country, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties...
instead.
Further reading
- David E. Hoffman. The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia, New York, Public Affairs, 2002, 2003, ISBN 1-58648-202-5