United Russia
Encyclopedia
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. Ideologically, it self-identifies as a "Russian conservative" party, and it supports the policies of the presidential administration of Dmitry Medvedev
. The party's association with former President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
, who is currently the leader of United Russia, has been the key to its success, and there is also evidence that the electorate credits the party (in addition to Putin) for improvements in the economy. Although the party's popularity has declined from its peak of 64.4% in the 2007 Duma elections to 41% in May 2011, it remains the by far most popular party in the country, ahead of the Communists
(13%).
to counter the advance of the Fatherland - All Russia (OVR) party led by Yuri Luzhkov. Its creation was heavily supported by Kremlin
insiders, who were wary of what looked like a certain OVR victory. They did not expect Unity to have much chance of success, since President Boris Yeltsin
was very unpopular and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
's ratings were still minuscule. The new party attempted to mimic OVR's formula of success, placing an emphasis on competence and pragmatism. Charismatic Minister of Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu
was appointed as the party leader.
In the autumn of 1999, Prime Minister Putin's popularity soared to double digit figures after he decisively sent troops
to the rebellious Chechnya
republic as a retaliation for terrorist bombings
in Moscow and other cities and in response for the Chechen invasion of Dagestan. Putin's war effort was hugely popular and portrayed positively by the Boris Berezovsky-owned ORT
television channel, as well as by state-controlled RTR.
24.3%. The blessing of the popular prime minister proved decisive for Unity's victory. The election results also made clear that Putin was going to win the 2000 presidential election
, which resulted in competitors Luzhkov and Yevgeni Primakov dropping out. Yeltsin
also gave Putin a boost by resigning as a president on 31 December 1999.
, after the victory state officials began to transform the party into a permanent one. A large number of independent deputies who had been elected to the Duma were invited to join the party's delegation. Many OVR deputies also joined, including its leader Luzhkov personally. In April 2001, OVR and Unity leaders issued a joint declaration that they had started the process of unification. In July 2001, the unified party, called "Union of Unity and Fatherland" held its founding congress, and in December 2001, it became "All-Russian Party of Unity and Fatherland", or more briefly, United Russia. In the second party congress in March 2003, Sergei Shoigu
stood down and Boris Gryzlov
was elected as the new party leader.
Instead of the "communism versus capitalism" dichotomy that had dominated the political discourse in the 1990s, in the 1999—2000 electoral cycle Putin started to emphasize another reason to vote for his party: stability, which was yearned for by Russian citizens after a decade of chaotic revolutionary change. With the exception of the continued fighting in the Northern Caucasus, Putin delivered it.
In 2002, the Kremlin was still unwilling to provide the tools
for the governors to overcome their coordination problem when it could not be
sure that they would remain loyal.
All of this began to change in early 2003. Alexandr Bespalov, United
Russia’s chief organizer, who had churned up so much acrimony among
regional leaders in his attempts to force United Russia into the regions, was
dismissed as head of the party’s Central Executive Committee. Federal
envoys began working to recruit candidates to run under the United Russia
banner, encouraging pro-presidential forces to work through the United
Russia organization, and channeling resources to party candidates.
On 13 January 2003, United Russia had 257,000 members, behind Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
(600,000) and the Communists
(500,000).
improved considerably, growing more each year than in all of the previous decade, and Putin's approval ratings hovered well above 70%. Russia's economic recovery was helped by high prices for its primary exports such as oil, gas and raw materials.
Although the actual results of the election gave United Russia a bare majority with 232
deputies, a further 78 deputies joined in the weeks after the elections, giving
United Russia a constitutional majority of 310 seats. The party was
quick to impose strict voting discipline, as voting cohesion among United
Russia deputies was significantly higher than it was among Our Home is Russia
deputies in the Second Duma.
The passage rate of law proposals increased considerably after United Russia become the dominant party in the Duma: in 1996—1999, only 76% of the legislation that passed the third reading was signed by the President, while in 1999—2003 the ratio was 93%. While Yeltsin
had often relied on his decree powers to enact major decisions, Putin almost never had to. United Russia's dominance in the Duma enabled Putin to push through a wide range of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, an overhaul of the labour market, breakups of national monopolies and new land and legal codes. United Russia characterized itself as wholly supportive of Putin's agenda, which proved a recipe for success and resulted in the party scoring a major victory in the 2003 Duma elections
, receiving more than a third of the popular vote.
Throughout its history, United Russia has been successful in using administrative resource
s to weaken its opponents. For example, state-controlled news media portrayed the Communist Party as hypocritical for accepting money from several "dollar millionaries" during the 2003 Duma election campaign. United Russia also introduced tougher party, candidate and voter registration requirements, and increased the election threshold from 5% to 7% for the 2007 elections.
Opposition parties also made several strategic mistakes. For example, Yabloko
and the Union of Right Forces
seemed to spend more effort attacking each other than Putin, which made it easier for United Russia to win over liberal voters on the strength of market reforms under Putin. The opposition parties faltered in the 2003 elections, with the Communists
gaining just 52 seats, a drop from 113 in 1999. Liberal opponents fared even worse, with Yabloko and Union of the Right Forces failing to cross the 5 percent threshold.
As the economy continued improving and Putin executed several popular moves, such as reining in the unpopular oligarch
s, Putin's approval ratings stayed high and he won the 2004 presidential election
with over 70% of the votes. The 2007 Duma elections
proved a stunning victory for United Russia, which won 64.3% of the votes. The Communist Party
became a distant second with 11.57% of the votes. Vladimir Putin was the only name on United Russia's national list, and his popularity helped the party to ensure victory.
During the December 2007 election, the party was accused by voters and election monitoring group GOLOS
of numerous election law
violations banned in the Russian Constitution
.
The legislative agenda shifted somewhat after the 2007 elections. Anti-terrorism legislation, large increases in social spending and the creation of new state corporations became the dominant issues, while less energy was devoted to economic reform.
, United Russia nominated Dmitry Medvedev
to succeed Putin. Medvedev received Putin's blessing and scored a clear victory, receiving 71% of the votes. As President, Medvedev nominated Putin as his Prime Minister. On April 15, 2008, Putin accepted a nomination to become the party's chairman, but declared that this didn't mean he would become a member. Medvedev has also refused to become a member.
During regional elections of October 11, 2009 United Russia won a majority of seats in almost every Russian municipality
. Opposition candidates claim they were hindered from campaigning for the elections and some were denied places on the ballot. There are also accusations of widespread ballot stuffing
and voter intimidation, as well as statistical analysis results supporting these accusations.
Support for United Russia was 53% in a poll held in October 2009. In 2010 and 2011, following the economic crisis, support for United Russia went up and down, but declined overall. The share of the population ready to vote for the party reached its lowest point in January 2011 (35%), before recovering to 41% in March 2011.
. It holds 26 of the 32 committee chairmanships and 8 of the 11 seats in the Council of Duma, the Duma's steering committee. The speaker of the Duma is United Russia's Boris Gryzlov
.
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.
and anti-radicalism
. The party regards itself to be one of the heirs to Russia's tradition of statehood, both tsarist and communist. United Russia's long-time moniker is "the party of real deeds."
United Russia has always characterised itself as wholly supportive of the agenda of the popular former President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
, and this has proved key to its success. A survey, whose results were presented by Henry E. Hale in 2008 at the Annual Meeting of American Political Science Association, indicates that the Russian population associates the party with a market economic orientation, opposition to communism, a moderately pro-Western foreign policy and a tough stance on rebellious minority regions like Chechnya. Voters who support such values are significantly more likely to vote for United Russia. Survey results also provide clear evidence that Russians tend to credit United Russia (as well as Putin) for improvements in the economy.
Since 2006, when Vladislav Surkov
introduced the term Sovereign democracy
, many figureheads of the party have taken usage of the term. President Dmitry Medvedev has criticised the term.
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 Praesidium 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 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.
As of September 20, 2005, the party has a total of 2,600 local and 29,856 primary offices.
November 4 Club, social conservative
Centre for Social Conservative Politics, and conservative liberal
Liberal Club, and State Patriotic Club. 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.
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Russia
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...
and the largest party in the country, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the 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...
. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties. Ideologically, it self-identifies as a "Russian conservative" party, and it supports the policies of the presidential administration of Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
. The party's association with former President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, who is currently the leader of United Russia, has been the key to its success, and there is also evidence that the electorate credits the party (in addition to Putin) for improvements in the economy. Although the party's popularity has declined from its peak of 64.4% in the 2007 Duma elections to 41% in May 2011, it remains the by far most popular party in the country, ahead of the Communists
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Russian political party. It is the second major political party in the Russian Federation.-History:...
(13%).
Origins
United Russia's predecessor was the Unity block, which was created three months before the December 1999 Duma electionsRussian legislative election, 1999
Legislative elections were held in the Russian Federation on 19 December 1999. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma , the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia...
to counter the advance of the Fatherland - All Russia (OVR) party led by Yuri Luzhkov. Its creation was heavily supported by Kremlin
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
insiders, who were wary of what looked like a certain OVR victory. They did not expect Unity to have much chance of success, since 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...
was very unpopular and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
's ratings were still minuscule. The new party attempted to mimic OVR's formula of success, placing an emphasis on competence and pragmatism. Charismatic Minister of Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu
Sergei Shoigu
Sergey Kuzhugetovich Shoygu is a Russian political figure who has been Minister of Emergency Situations since 1994. He is a ethnic Tuvan and holds the military rank of General of the Army. He is also the President of the International Sport Federation of Firefighters and Rescuers...
was appointed as the party leader.
In the autumn of 1999, Prime Minister Putin's popularity soared to double digit figures after he decisively sent troops
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
to the rebellious 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...
republic as a retaliation for terrorist bombings
Russian apartment bombings
The Russian apartment bombings were a series of explosions that hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk in September 1999, killing 293 people and injuring 651. The explosions occurred in Buynaksk on 4 September, Moscow on 9 and 13 September, and...
in Moscow and other cities and in response for the Chechen invasion of Dagestan. Putin's war effort was hugely popular and portrayed positively by the Boris Berezovsky-owned ORT
Channel One (Russia)
Channel One is the first television channel to broadcast in the Soviet Union. The channel was renamed Ostankino Channel 1 in 1991, after the Soviet Union broke up and the Russian SFSR became the Russian Federation. According to a recent government publication, the Russian government controls 51%...
television channel, as well as by state-controlled RTR.
1999 Duma elections
Contrary to its creators' expectations, Unity's election campaign was a huge success, and the party received 23.3% of the votes, considerably more than OVR's 13.3% and within one percentage point of the Communist Party'sCommunist Party of the Russian Federation
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Russian political party. It is the second major political party in the Russian Federation.-History:...
24.3%. The blessing of the popular prime minister proved decisive for Unity's victory. The election results also made clear that Putin was going to win the 2000 presidential election
Russian presidential election, 2000
Russian presidential elections were held on 26 March 2000. Incumbent Prime Minister, and acting President Vladimir Putin, who had succeeded Boris Yeltsin on his resignation December 31, 1999, was seeking a four-year term in his own right and won the elections in the first round. Polling stations...
, which resulted in competitors Luzhkov and Yevgeni Primakov dropping out. 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...
also gave Putin a boost by resigning as a president on 31 December 1999.
Creation of United Russia
While Unity had initially had only one narrow purpose, limited only to the 1999 Duma electionsRussian legislative election, 1999
Legislative elections were held in the Russian Federation on 19 December 1999. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma , the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia...
, after the victory state officials began to transform the party into a permanent one. A large number of independent deputies who had been elected to the Duma were invited to join the party's delegation. Many OVR deputies also joined, including its leader Luzhkov personally. In April 2001, OVR and Unity leaders issued a joint declaration that they had started the process of unification. In July 2001, the unified party, called "Union of Unity and Fatherland" held its founding congress, and in December 2001, it became "All-Russian Party of Unity and Fatherland", or more briefly, United Russia. In the second party congress in March 2003, Sergei Shoigu
Sergei Shoigu
Sergey Kuzhugetovich Shoygu is a Russian political figure who has been Minister of Emergency Situations since 1994. He is a ethnic Tuvan and holds the military rank of General of the Army. He is also the President of the International Sport Federation of Firefighters and Rescuers...
stood down and Boris Gryzlov
Boris Gryzlov
Boris Vyacheslavovich Gryzlov , is a Russian politician and current Speaker of Russia's State Duma . He is one of the leaders of the largest Russian political party, United Russia...
was elected as the new party leader.
Instead of the "communism versus capitalism" dichotomy that had dominated the political discourse in the 1990s, in the 1999—2000 electoral cycle Putin started to emphasize another reason to vote for his party: stability, which was yearned for by Russian citizens after a decade of chaotic revolutionary change. With the exception of the continued fighting in the Northern Caucasus, Putin delivered it.
In 2002, the Kremlin was still unwilling to provide the tools
for the governors to overcome their coordination problem when it could not be
sure that they would remain loyal.
All of this began to change in early 2003. Alexandr Bespalov, United
Russia’s chief organizer, who had churned up so much acrimony among
regional leaders in his attempts to force United Russia into the regions, was
dismissed as head of the party’s Central Executive Committee. Federal
envoys began working to recruit candidates to run under the United Russia
banner, encouraging pro-presidential forces to work through the United
Russia organization, and channeling resources to party candidates.
On 13 January 2003, United Russia had 257,000 members, behind Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , Liberal'no-Demokraticheskaya Partiya Rossii is a political party in Russia. Since its founding in 1991, it has been led by the charismatic and controversial figure Vladimir Zhirinovsky...
(600,000) and the Communists
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Russian political party. It is the second major political party in the Russian Federation.-History:...
(500,000).
2003 Duma elections
Throughout Putin's first years as President, the country's economyEconomy of Russia
The economy of Russia is the eleventh largest economy in the world by nominal value and the sixth largest by purchasing power parity . Russia has an abundance of natural gas, oil, coal, and precious metals...
improved considerably, growing more each year than in all of the previous decade, and Putin's approval ratings hovered well above 70%. Russia's economic recovery was helped by high prices for its primary exports such as oil, gas and raw materials.
Although the actual results of the election gave United Russia a bare majority with 232
deputies, a further 78 deputies joined in the weeks after the elections, giving
United Russia a constitutional majority of 310 seats. The party was
quick to impose strict voting discipline, as voting cohesion among United
Russia deputies was significantly higher than it was among Our Home is Russia
Our Home Is Russia
Our Home – Russia , abbreviated as NDR, was a Russian political party between 1995 and early 2000.Our Home – Russia was founded in 1995 by then Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. It was a liberal, centrist political movement, founded for the purpose of rallying more technocratic-reformist...
deputies in the Second Duma.
The passage rate of law proposals increased considerably after United Russia become the dominant party in the Duma: in 1996—1999, only 76% of the legislation that passed the third reading was signed by the President, while in 1999—2003 the ratio was 93%. While 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...
had often relied on his decree powers to enact major decisions, Putin almost never had to. United Russia's dominance in the Duma enabled Putin to push through a wide range of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, an overhaul of the labour market, breakups of national monopolies and new land and legal codes. United Russia characterized itself as wholly supportive of Putin's agenda, which proved a recipe for success and resulted in the party scoring a major victory in the 2003 Duma elections
Russian legislative election, 2003
Legislative elections were held in the Russian Federation on December 7, 2003. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma , the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia ....
, receiving more than a third of the popular vote.
Throughout its history, United Russia has been successful in using administrative resource
Administrative resource
Administrative resource is the ability of political candidates to use their official positions or connections to government institutions to influence the outcome of elections....
s to weaken its opponents. For example, state-controlled news media portrayed the Communist Party as hypocritical for accepting money from several "dollar millionaries" during the 2003 Duma election campaign. United Russia also introduced tougher party, candidate and voter registration requirements, and increased the election threshold from 5% to 7% for the 2007 elections.
Opposition parties also made several strategic mistakes. For example, Yabloko
Yabloko
The Russian United Democratic Party "Yabloko" The Russian United Democratic Party "Yabloko" The Russian United Democratic Party "Yabloko" (Russian: Росси́йская объединённая демократи́ческая па́ртия «Я́блоко» Rossiyskaya obyedinyonnaya demokraticheskaya partiya "Yabloko"; is a Russian social...
and the Union of Right Forces
Union of Right Forces
The Union of Right Forces, or SPS , was a Russian democratic opposition party associated with free market reforms, privatization, and the legacy of the 'Young Reformers' of the 1990s: Anatoly Chubais, Boris Nemtsov, and Yegor Gaidar. Nikita Belykh was the last party's leader...
seemed to spend more effort attacking each other than Putin, which made it easier for United Russia to win over liberal voters on the strength of market reforms under Putin. The opposition parties faltered in the 2003 elections, with the Communists
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Russian political party. It is the second major political party in the Russian Federation.-History:...
gaining just 52 seats, a drop from 113 in 1999. Liberal opponents fared even worse, with Yabloko and Union of the Right Forces failing to cross the 5 percent threshold.
2007 Duma elections
Oligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
s, Putin's approval ratings stayed high and he won the 2004 presidential election
Russian presidential election, 2004
Presidential elections were held in Russia on 14 March 2004. Incumbent Vladimir Putin was seeking a second full four-year term. He was re-elected with 71.31% of the vote.-Sergey Glazyev:...
with over 70% of the votes. The 2007 Duma elections
Russian legislative election, 2007
Legislative elections were held in the Russian Federation on 2 December 2007. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia . Eleven parties were included in the ballot, including Russia's largest party, United Russia, which was supported by...
proved a stunning victory for United Russia, which won 64.3% of the votes. The Communist Party
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Russian political party. It is the second major political party in the Russian Federation.-History:...
became a distant second with 11.57% of the votes. Vladimir Putin was the only name on United Russia's national list, and his popularity helped the party to ensure victory.
During the December 2007 election, the party was accused by voters and election monitoring group GOLOS
GOLOS Association
For the Russian film, see Golos The GOLOS Association is a Russian civilian organization established in 2000 to protect the electoral rights of citizens and to foster civil society. As of 2008, the organization covers 40 Russian regions...
of numerous election law
Election law
Election law is a discipline falling at the juncture of constitutional law and political science. It researches "the politics of law and the law of politics"...
violations banned in the Russian Constitution
Russian constitution
Russian constitution* Constitution of Russia* Russian Constitution of 1906* Russian Constitution of 1918* Russian Constitution of 1978* Judiciary of Russia...
.
The legislative agenda shifted somewhat after the 2007 elections. Anti-terrorism legislation, large increases in social spending and the creation of new state corporations became the dominant issues, while less energy was devoted to economic reform.
Post-2007
For the 2008 presidential electionRussian presidential election, 2008
The Russian Presidential election of 2008, held on March 2, 2008 resulted in the election of Dmitry Medvedev as the third President of Russia. Medvedev, whose candidacy was supported by incumbent president Vladimir Putin and five political parties , received 71% of the vote, and defeated...
, United Russia nominated Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
to succeed Putin. Medvedev received Putin's blessing and scored a clear victory, receiving 71% of the votes. As President, Medvedev nominated Putin as his Prime Minister. On April 15, 2008, Putin accepted a nomination to become the party's chairman, but declared that this didn't mean he would become a member. Medvedev has also refused to become a member.
During regional elections of October 11, 2009 United Russia won a majority of seats in almost every Russian municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
. Opposition candidates claim they were hindered from campaigning for the elections and some were denied places on the ballot. There are also accusations of widespread ballot stuffing
Ballot stuffing
Ballot stuffing is the illegal act of one person submitting multiple ballots during a vote in which only one ballot per person is permitted. The name originates from the earliest days of this practice in which people literally did stuff more than one ballot in a ballot box at the same time...
and voter intimidation, as well as statistical analysis results supporting these accusations.
Support for United Russia was 53% in a poll held in October 2009. In 2010 and 2011, following the economic crisis, support for United Russia went up and down, but declined overall. The share of the population ready to vote for the party reached its lowest point in January 2011 (35%), before recovering to 41% in March 2011.
State Duma
| Year | Leader | Votes | Percentage | Seats | Control |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Russian legislative election, 1999 Legislative elections were held in the Russian Federation on 19 December 1999. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma , the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia... (as Unity Party) |
Sergey Shoigu | 15,549,182 | 23.3% | 73 | Minority |
| 2003 Russian legislative election, 2003 Legislative elections were held in the Russian Federation on December 7, 2003. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma , the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia .... |
Boris Gryzlov Boris Gryzlov Boris Vyacheslavovich Gryzlov , is a Russian politician and current Speaker of Russia's State Duma . He is one of the leaders of the largest Russian political party, United Russia... |
22,779,279 | 37.6% | 225 | Majority |
| 2007 Russian legislative election, 2007 Legislative elections were held in the Russian Federation on 2 December 2007. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia . Eleven parties were included in the ballot, including Russia's largest party, United Russia, which was supported by... |
Boris Gryzlov Boris Gryzlov Boris Vyacheslavovich Gryzlov , is a Russian politician and current Speaker of Russia's State Duma . He is one of the leaders of the largest Russian political party, United Russia... |
44,714,241 | 64.3% | 315 | Majority |
| 2011 Russian legislative election, 2011 Legislative elections will be held in the Russian Federation on 4 December 2011. At stake will be the 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia .-Regulations:... |
Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint... |
TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
President
| Year | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 Russian presidential election, 2004 Presidential elections were held in Russia on 14 March 2004. Incumbent Vladimir Putin was seeking a second full four-year term. He was re-elected with 71.31% of the vote.-Sergey Glazyev:... (Supported) |
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when... |
49,565,238 | 71.3% | Won |
| 2008 Russian presidential election, 2008 The Russian Presidential election of 2008, held on March 2, 2008 resulted in the election of Dmitry Medvedev as the third President of Russia. Medvedev, whose candidacy was supported by incumbent president Vladimir Putin and five political parties , received 71% of the vote, and defeated... (Supported) |
Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint... |
52,530,712 | 70.2% | Won |
| 2012 Russian presidential election, 2012 The 2012 Russian presidential elections are to be held on 4 March 2012.According to a "Levada Center" opinion poll from September 2011, 41% of Russians wanted to see Putin be a candidate in the 2012 elections as opposed to 22% for Medvedev, while 10% wanted someone else and 28% were unsure.On 30... |
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when... |
TBD | TBD | TBD |
Federal Assembly
United Russia currently holds 315 of the 450 seats in the State DumaState 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...
. It holds 26 of the 32 committee chairmanships and 8 of the 11 seats in the Council of Duma, the Duma's steering committee. The speaker of the Duma is United Russia's Boris Gryzlov
Boris Gryzlov
Boris Vyacheslavovich Gryzlov , is a Russian politician and current Speaker of Russia's State Duma . He is one of the leaders of the largest Russian political party, United Russia...
.
The party has only informal influence in the upper house, the Federation Council
Federation Council of Russia
Federation Council of Russia ) is the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , according to the 1993 Constitution of the Russian Federation...
, as the Council has rejected the use of political factions in decision making.
Party membership
In April 2008, United Russia was claiming 1.98 million members. 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.Party platform
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 for the most part 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. In addition, the official party platform emphasizes pragmatismPragmatism
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition centered on the linking of practice and theory. It describes a process where theory is extracted from practice, and applied back to practice to form what is called intelligent practice...
and anti-radicalism
Political radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
. The party regards itself to be one of the heirs to Russia's tradition of statehood, both tsarist and communist. United Russia's long-time moniker is "the party of real deeds."
United Russia has always characterised itself as wholly supportive of the agenda of the popular former President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, and this has proved key to its success. A survey, whose results were presented by Henry E. Hale in 2008 at the Annual Meeting of American Political Science Association, indicates that the Russian population associates the party with a market economic orientation, opposition to communism, a moderately pro-Western foreign policy and a tough stance on rebellious minority regions like Chechnya. Voters who support such values are significantly more likely to vote for United Russia. Survey results also provide clear evidence that Russians tend to credit United Russia (as well as Putin) for improvements in the economy.
Since 2006, when Vladislav Surkov
Vladislav Surkov
Vladislav Yuryevich Surkov is a Russian businessman and politician. Currently he is a First Deputy Chief of Staff of the President of the Russian Federation and a top aide to Vladimir Putin. Vladislav Surkov is widely seen as the main ideologist of the Kremlin...
introduced the term Sovereign democracy
Sovereign democracy
Sovereign democracy is a term that with regard to Russian politics was first used by Vladislav Surkov on the 22nd of February 2006 in a speech before a gathering of the Russian political party United Russia...
, many figureheads of the party have taken usage of the term. President Dmitry Medvedev has criticised the term.
Electorate
According to studies, United Russia voters in 2007 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. 64% of United Russia supporters are female. According to researchers, this could be because women place a great value on stability. In the run-up to the 2011 Duma elections, it was reported that support for United Russia was growing among young people.Foreign opinions
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." Because of this, it is also often labelled the 'party of power'.Structure
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 Praesidium 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 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
Kadima
Kadima is a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely to support the issue of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, and was soon joined by like-minded Labor politicians...
party.
As of September 20, 2005, the party has a total of 2,600 local and 29,856 primary offices.
Internal groupings
United Russia is a large and diverse party, and has several internal subdivisions. The party has 4 internal groupings, organized around common policy interests. In addition, the party makes use of four internal political clubs to debate policy: liberal conservativeLiberal conservatism
Liberal conservatism also known as progressive conservatism is a variant of political conservatism which incorporates liberal elements. As "conservatism" and "liberalism" have had different meanings over time and across countries, the term "liberal conservatism" has been used in quite different...
November 4 Club, social conservative
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
Centre for Social Conservative Politics, and conservative liberal
Conservative liberalism
Conservative liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or, more simply, representing the right-wing of the liberal movement....
Liberal Club, and State Patriotic Club. 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.
Leaders
- Vladimir PutinVladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, the chairman of the party and the incumbent Prime Minister of Russia - Boris GryzlovBoris GryzlovBoris Vyacheslavovich Gryzlov , is a Russian politician and current Speaker of Russia's State Duma . He is one of the leaders of the largest Russian political party, United Russia...
, former interior minister and current speaker of State Duma - Sergey Shoigu, the emergency minister, former leader of Unity party
- Mintimer Shaymiev, president of TatarstanTatarstanThe Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...
until 2010 - Vladislav SurkovVladislav SurkovVladislav Yuryevich Surkov is a Russian businessman and politician. Currently he is a First Deputy Chief of Staff of the President of the Russian Federation and a top aide to Vladimir Putin. Vladislav Surkov is widely seen as the main ideologist of the Kremlin...
, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the President - Alexander ZhukovAlexander ZhukovAlexander Dmitriyevich Zhukov is a Russian economist and politician, member of the State Duma . He is the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation since 9 March 2004.-Family:...
, Deputy Prime Minister
Chairmen of United Russia
- Sergey Shoigu (2001–2005)
- Boris GryzlovBoris GryzlovBoris Vyacheslavovich Gryzlov , is a Russian politician and current Speaker of Russia's State Duma . He is one of the leaders of the largest Russian political party, United Russia...
(2005–2008) - Vladimir PutinVladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
(2008–present)