How United is United Russia? Regional Sources of Intra-party Conflict

Abstract

The United Russia party has been given the role of the dominant party in the Russian political system, both at the national level and in all regions. Nevertheless, the party lacks many of the institutional characteristics that would allow it to play an autonomous role, particularly in regional politics. United Russia lacks an effective patronage system; personnel decisions are in the hands of other actors. The party is highly centralized, yet subject to pressure from governors who are only formally subordinate to the party. Intra-party democracy is minimal, and the regional party organs lack financial independence. Conflicts among regional elites take the form of a struggle for control over the party, and this hinders United Russia's ability to establish strong regional organizations. This appears to be the desired outcome; the Kremlin uses the party as a screen to conceal its efforts to micro-manage regional political developments.

Notes

‘Regional'nyi desant v “Otechestvo”’ [Regional landing in ‘Otechestvo’], Izvestiya, 19 Dec. 1998.

‘Sozdaetsya vtoroi gubernatorskii blok’ [Second governors' bloc created], Nezavisimaya gazeta, 20 April 1999.

See the interview with Andrei Loginov at <http://www.polit.ru>, 20 Sept. 1999, accessed 20 Sept. 1999.

See also Henry E. Hale, ‘The Origins of United Russia and the Putin Presidency: The Role of Contingency in Party-System Development’, Demokratizatsiya, Vol.12, No.2 (2004), pp.169–94.

On becoming president, Putin named Alexander Bespalov presidential representative in St. Petersburg; he also served as deputy presidential representative [polpred] in the Central Federal District.

Interview with Prusak in Nezavisimaya gazeta, 21 July 2003.

Vitalii Ivanov, ‘Yedinaya Rossiya’: Kratkaya istoriya partii [‘United Russia’: Brief history of the party] (Moscow: Yevropa, 2009), pp.57–8.

Bespalov became head of the information department at Gazprom and a member of the board of directors of ‘Gazprom-Media’.

Interview with Oleg Morozov, Gazeta, 28 March 2003.

Ol'ga Tropkina, ‘“Yedinaya Rossiya” vyzdorovela s golovy’, [‘United Russia’ has been cured from the top] Nezavisimaya gazeta, 31 March 2003.

‘Eduard Rossel’ okazalsya mezhdu “Yedinoi Rossiei” i merom' [Eduard Rossel' found himself between United Russia and the mayor], Kommersant, 24 Sept. 2003.

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Sergei Sergievskii, ‘Administravnyi resurs: torg umesten’ [Administrative resource: Haggling in order], Nezavisimaya gazeta, 18 April 2003.

Ironically, the oppositionist party leader who was replaced was the same person, Yevgenii Zelenov, whom Prusak had earlier worked to get elected to the Duma in a single-member district.

Andrei Riskin, ‘V Pskove “Yedinaya Rossiya” razdvoilas’ [In Pskov United Russia has doubled], Nezavisimaya gazeta, 13 Feb. 2003.

Andrei Riskin, ‘V Pskove poyavilsya yeshche odin “predstavitel’” Prezidenta' [In Pskov yet another President's “representative” has appeared], Nezavisimaya gazeta, 7 July 2003.

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‘Medvezh'ya vertikal’ [The bear's vertical (the UR party symbol is a bear; the term also carries disparaging tones in Russian)], Gazeta, 24 Sept. 2004; and ‘Governors Lining Up to Join the Party’, Moscow Times, 24 Sept. 004.

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The 2003 Duma was elected from both single-member districts and regional party lists; in 2007 the Duma was entirely elected from party lists.

Frants Klintsevich, ‘Gubernatory ne dolzhny vozglavlyat’ regional'nye otdeleniya partii' [Governors must not head regional branches of the party], 21 July 2006, at <http://old.edinros.ru/news.html?id=114503>, accessed 1 Sept. 2009.

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‘Partiya gotovit kadrovyi rezerv’ [Party preparing reserve of cadres], 4 Nov. 2004, available at <http://old.edinros.ru/news.html?id=80812>, accessed 10 July 2009.

The first time a regional branch of United Russia nominated a candidate for the top post in a region came in the Republic of Adygeya in October 2006.

This assumes that the party attracts few pensioners as members and focuses its recruitment effort on that portion of the population between the ages of 21 and 60.

For background on the republic see Gordon M. Hahn, ‘The Rise of Islamist Extremism in Kabardino-Balkariya’, Demokratizatsiya, Vol.13, No.4 (2005), pp.543–94.

Decision of the Presidium of UR General Council, 6 March 2009.

Calculated by adding the quarterly financial reports of funds transferred to regional organizations and comparing this with the amount reportedly spent for administration by regional organs in the annual financial reports. All from the CEC site, available at <http://www.cikrf.ru/newsite/politparty/>, accessed 11 Aug. 2009.

‘U Sverdlovskikh yedinorossov konchilis’ den'gi' [United Russians in Sverdlovsk run out of money], Kommersant, 6 Oct. 2009. In the end, Rossel' was not reappointed.

List compiled from the protocols of the General Council meetings on the United Russia website, available at <http://edinros.ru/er/rubr.shtml?110104>, accessed 9 Sept. 2009.

‘Yedinaya Rossiya otbiraet kandidatov koe-kak’ [United Russia selects candidates somehow], Kommersant, 30 Oct. 2009.

Results reported on the site of the UR Duma deputy Igor' Barinov, available at <http://www.ivbarinov.ru>, accessed 20 Oct. 2009.

‘Otsev po partiinoi linii’ [Selection according to the party line], Kommersant (Voronezh), 29 Oct. 2009.

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Luke March, ‘Managing Opposition in a Hybrid Regime: Just Russia and Parastatal Opposition’, Slavic Review, Vol.68, No.3 (2009), pp.504–27.

‘Dnya surka ne budet’ [There won't be a groundhog day], Nezavisimaya gazeta, 13 March 2007.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Darrell Slider

Darrell Slider is Professor of Government and International Affairs at the University of South Florida (Tampa). He has published extensively on Russian federalism and regional politics.