United Russia

The All-Russian Political Party "United Russia" is the officially registered Russian ruling political party, the largest in the country. It was formed on 1 December 2001 to unify the political movements Unity and Fatherland - All Russia. Following the results of the 2003 elections, United Russia formed a parliamentary majority in the State Duma and, in 2007, a constitutional majority. As of 2018 it holds 335 (or 74.44%) of the 450 seats in the State Duma. United Russia members have constituted the majority of State Duma since 2007.

Party ideology

• I propose to create what in political practice is called a broad popular front. It is a tool for uniting congenial political forces. I would very much like United Russia, some other political parties, trade unions, women's, youth, and veteran organizations, including veterans of the Great Patriotic War and veterans of the war in Afghanistan, that all people who are united by a common desire to strengthen our country, with the idea of finding the most optimal solutions to the problems we face, could work within a single platform.
  This form of uniting the efforts of all political forces is used in different countries and by different political forces — left, right, and patriotic — this is a tool for uniting political forces close in spirit. I would like the Party, other parties, and public organizations to see all people united by the desire to improve the country's life. This association can be called the All-Russian People's Front, within which non-partisan candidates could enter the Duma on the list of United Russia.
  • Vladimir Putin, 6 May 2011

• We have many bilateral agreements with public organizations. We are already working with them, but we are working in some specific areas. The creation of the front is the next step in the consolidation of United Russia and outside organizations. We would like to involve public organizations in writing the program. We would like as many public associations and organizations as possible to offer their ideas for the further development of our country.
  • Boris Gryzlov, 23 August 2011

About the party

2010

• Speaking about United Russia, it is useful to remember that a critical position 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 the members of United Russia 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 depravity of the one-party system reigns in society.
  • Vladimir Solovyov, 9 February

• The reality is that today, only United Russia is probably capable of this work. First of all, due to the branching of its structures and the dominant position in local and regional authorities. It 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, 24 March

• United Russia has no ideology, no clear program, but has two goals: to stay in the chair and cling to the main money bag - the budget.
  • Gennady Zyuganov, 24 March

2011

• United Russia reminds me of a worse copy of the CPSU... Yes, we have everything. There is a parliament, courts, the president, the prime minister, and so on...and all this is on the ground. But you know - more imitation. There is no efficient operation.
  • Mikhail Gorbachev, 22 February

• There is nothing illegal in the similarity of the CEC campaign with the election posters of United Russia. Yes, there is a similarity, but following the law, the party that decides to hang billboards coordinates their sketches with a special commission, so there can be no claims against United Russia.
  • Valery Ryazansky, 8 November

Criticism

• I think very poorly of United Russia. United Russia is the party of corruption, the party of crooks and thieves. And it is the duty of every patriot and citizen of our country to make sure that this party is destroyed.
  • Alexey Navalny, as quoted in "Net Impact: One man's cyber-crusade against Russian corruption" (4 April 2011), by Julia Ioffe, The New Yorker

• ... a blank concept for a political party of large landowners called "Possessing Together". It included a ten-page Mozartian-inspired manifesto, an instructive address to fellow citizens, theses on working with rural youth, and more. <...> The central ideologeme of the movement, "Family Values", was especially impressive. <...> The main thing is that such a humanistic ideology would look advantageous in the international arena, where no one would understand what kind of family they are discussing.
  The concept included visual materials. A strong impression <...> was made by a poster where a brutal bearded Chechen, resembling a young Karl Marx, pulled a raking paw-swastika to the chest of his motherland, who held a baby with eyes full of Byzantine sadness. Behind the motherland was a rural-industrial landscape with beet-aluminum connotations. A mustachioed grenadier in a shako with a double-headed eagle stuck a blue-white-red bayonet into the paw of a Chechen. An alarming bloody inscription crossed the poster:
  "Hands off family values!"
  There was another version where a bearded Chechen with a red flag covered with green letters and a grenade in his teeth tried to climb a sparkling oil rig, but the searchlight beam, which brave guys in tricolor tights controlled, pulled out his sinister figure from the darkness (<…> it was torn off from one of the famous paintings on the theme of "storming the Reichstag").
  • Victor Pelevin, Numbers, 2003

• The symbol of the United Russia party, the bear, was precisely chosen. Especially if you remember the fairy tale "Teremok". <...> And then the bear came and said: "It's me, bear, you're all screwed!" He sat down on the teremok, and it fell apart.
  • Mikhail Zadornov, Notebook of a Weary Romantic, (This Mad, Mad, Mad World…, 2005)

• The symbol of the main Russian political party United Russia is a bear! An amazingly accurate symbol. He destroys beehives and bird nests, rides a motorcycle in the circus, dances the mistress, and most importantly, sleeps for half a year and sucks his paw!
  • Mikhail Zadornov, Crazy House of the Universe

• United Russia will survive on the condition that there will be a one-party dictatorship in the country, but the presence of at least some powers in Medvedev dooms it to extinction.
  • Garry Kasparov

• This party is only a few days old. It became a party only when Putin headed it. And before that, there was an association without ideology, program, and leader.
  • Roy Medvedev

• United Russia is the second and worst edition of the CPSU. If it starts criticizing Putin, it will immediately end, because it is nothing without him.
  • Sergei Mitrokhin

• This is not a party but a trade union of serfs. Or voting protoplasm. Putin holds them as Ivan the Terrible held guardsmen. <...> United Russia is not needed by anyone except Putin.
  • Valeria Novodvorskaya

• At the same time, yesterday's congress reminded me of the worst examples of mass meetings of the CPSU; however, then the country was smarter, more powerful, and more independent. 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, 30 November 2011

External links

• Encyclopedic article on United Russia on Wikipedia