Elite Club and Instrument of Legitimacy
Russia’s “Party of Power”
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Autocratic regimes need a democratic sheen. Therefore, they simulate political competition. Russia may have a lot of political parties, but since 2004, the registration of new parties has been almost impossible. Still more important, however, President Vladimir Putin’s party United Russia (Edinaia Rossiia), which was established in 2001, is not a government party, but a “party of power”. It depends entirely on the presidential apparatus and serves first and foremost the regime’s legitimacy. Every attempt to bring it to life has failed. A prerequisite to this end would be a fundamental change in Russia’s power structure.
(Osteuropa 4/2013, pp. 101–106)