Parties & Party System in Russia

By Shamma Qureshi, Tanjila Rahman, Samin Iram, and Charles Brister-Ramirez

Key Vocabulary● Duma- the lower house in the Federal Assembly of Russia● Parties of Power- parties created by political elites to support their political

aspirations. They generally have no ideological position.● Linkage Institutions - groups that link citizens to government. In Russia they are

not very strong which inhibits any efforts of establishing a liberal democracy

● Russian political parties appeared immediately after the Revolution of 1991● Most parties revolved around particular leaders or reflected specific groups● There were 43 parties participating in the 1995 Duma elections. The number

of parties has decreased with time, going down to 26 by 1999 Duma elections. ● The trend was strengthened by rules enacted by Putin in 2005 and 2007. He

made it so that parties may only gain seats on the Duma if they win a minimum of 7% of the national vote

● This only left four parties with seats after the 2007 and 2011 elections: United Russia, the Communist Party, The Liberal Democrats, and A Just Russia

Evolution of the Party System

Evolution of the Party system

According to the economist “Elections, like much of politics in Russia, are an imitation of the real thing...the general outcome was no surprise. United Russia, which has the entire Russian bureaucracy at its disposal, grabbed 70% of all seats in the 12 legislatures that held elections.”-This article shows how United Russia has a almost a political monopoly in Russia.

● led by Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev● currently has 238 seats out of 450 seats in the State Duma● controls most regional parliaments and local elective bodies● founded in 2001 as merger of Fatherland All-Russia and Unity Party of

Russia● ideology hard to define; does anything to provide support for Putin● current platform wants to modernize and reform economy, fight

corruption, strengthen judicial system, and creation a Eurasian Economic Union, consisting of former Soviet republics

● base of support mainly consists of females, government and military employees, voters are usually younger

United Russia

● Methods United Russia control Russian Elections ○ many candidates are denied registration due technical errors during

registration○ rallies by opposition parties are disrupted by United Russia gatherings

or cancelled altogether○ gifts are often given out by United Russia to worthy causes

● Putin elected as United Russia candidate but many smaller parties in Duma also supported him○ Even after two-term limit in 2007, his successor, Dmitri Medvedev

was elected President and ‘chose’ Putin as Prime Minister. ○ Putin elected back as President in 2012

Putin’s Monopoly of Power

● Left wing party whose main platform is fairness, freedom and solidarity for all Russians.

● Calls for a welfare state.● Formed in 2006 by merger of Motherland People’s Patriotic Union, Party

of Pensioners and Party of Life.● Motherland previously had split into two parties as a result of debate over

challenging Putin in 2004 race● Party has gained power in recent elections, going from 38 seats to 64 from

2007 to 2011● blends socialist and democratic values, wants stronger local government,

wants larger government role in economy and modernized economy

A Just Russia

● created in 1993 after lifting of three-year ban on Communist activities● though had significant support in early Duma elections, support has

dropped from 157 out of 450 seats in 1995 to 92 in 2011● discontent with Putin has helped it gain some seats● support in recent elections has been around 20%, compared to 60-70%

support for Putin/Medvedev● wants to also limit NATO influence, recreate centralized planning, free

land distribution, modernize army, and enhance role of UN as well as recover old Soviet territories

● supported mainly by the poor, uneducated, and elderly

Communist Party of the Russian Federation

● created in 1990 as far-right nationalist party● was to reform Russian political system by cutting of partnerships with the

West and have a larger role for Russia in the world● leader is Vladimir Zhirinovsky who has made several controversial

comments regarding nuclear weapons usage against Japan, anti-Semitic remarks, and sexist remarks

● has gained some support from extremist that have dropped out of Putin’s United Russia

● currently has 56 seats in state Duma● base of support are mostly male, consisting of the poor and the elderly

Liberal Democratic Party of Russia

● created in 1993, but officially registered in 2002.● perhaps only true liberal-democratic party in Russia; has had no Duma

seats since 2003.● wants to promote civil rights as well limit the influence of bureaucrats and

big business.● wants Russia to have closer ties with both its neighbors and Europe in

general.

Yabloko

● Patriots of Russia○ party that won 7% of votes in 2011 regional elections despite not existing

before○ critics claim that party is a creation of the Kremlin government in an attempt

to siphon votes away from opposition parties○ This claim gained support when in the legislative elections, the party earned

less than 1% of votes○ wants to nationalize private industries, gain rights for Russian citizens, and

gain power for local governments● Critics of the Patriots of Russia often point towards the Rodina party set up in the

2004 to take votes away from the Communists○ after the election, the party dissolved and its leader gained a high position in

government

Other Parties

● Contrary to the Russian system, the UK has a very fair and competitive system.

● Unlike in Russia, most UK parties such as the Labour party and Conservative party are based around clear political ideologies, and emphasize loyalty to the party itself, while Russian parties are generally based around a leader.

● In Russia, parties also do not last for a long time, while in the UK, the major parties have been quite resilient.

● The UK does have some similarities with the Russian system. In both systems, smaller parties have a more difficult time in winning seats.

Comparison of Party System to the UK

● Although elections in Russia are technically competitive, in practice it is a one party system, as United Russia wins with any real challenge.

● This resembles the Mexican system until 2000, as the PRI was the ruling party and never lost an election due to state support.

● Like United Russia, the PRI and the Mexican government had been accused of corruption and election fraud in order to maintain their power.

● Like the PRI, United Russia has no clear political ideology and policies can change from party leader to leader.

Comparison of Party System to Mexico

● United Russia and The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) both promised better health care and education

● Both parties were accused of fraudulent elections○ United Russia - Putin’s hand-picked successor, Dmitri Medvedev,

won the presidential election and “chose”Putin as his prime minister○ PDP - 2007: Umaru Yar’adua received 70% of the vote; the party

gained an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly; most of the governors elected were candidates of the PDP

● Both are corrupt but the difference is that United Russia is pro-Putin, so it may be that Putin will garner power as long as he could. In Nigeria, there have been different leaders in every election.

Comparison of Party System to Nigeria