#24 - JRL 2006-222 - JRL Home
Moscow Times
October 3, 2006
United Russia Backs Sovereign Democracy
By Simon Saradzhyan
Staff Writer

United Russia unveiled its platform for the upcoming election cycle Monday, placing the emphasis squarely on "sovereign democracy," social spending and a promise to fight government corruption.

"Given the scale of the challenges that face this country, United Russia is announcing a strategy of qualitative renewal of the country as a sovereign democracy," the draft document says.

The party is expected to adopt the platform at its Dec. 2 congress in Yekaterinburg ahead of regional elections next March and State Duma elections in late 2007.

United Russia leader and Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov insisted that Russia should pursue its own interests at a time when other countries were "preparing for foreign rule" -- an apparent reference to several former Soviet republics, such as Georgia and Ukraine, which have pursued closer ties with the West.

The term "sovereign democracy" was popularized by Vladislav Surkov, the powerful deputy head of the presidential administration, to support the Kremlin's claim that Russia had the right to pursue a course that often brought it into conflict with Western democracies.

By enshrining "sovereign democracy" in its political platform, United Russia has decided to ignore criticism of the concept from First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Medvedev, who is seen as a possible successor to President Vladimir Putin, observed in July that the term "democracy" acquires "a strange taste" when it is qualified. Shortly thereafter, Oleg Morozov, a leading member of United Russia and deputy speaker of the Duma, said the party's platform should not be based on Surkov's concept. Less than three months later, Morozov did an about-face and placed "sovereign democracy" at the heart of the United Russia platform, which he compiled.

The platform does, however, make a point of referring to the Kremlin's national projects scheme, which is headed by Medvedev.

Party spokesman Leonid Goryainov said "no special discussion" concerning "sovereign democracy" had taken place during the drafting of the platform.

As the State Duma election approaches, United Russia has dropped its earlier demand that the prime minister be appointed by the parliamentary majority, Gryzlov said Monday. Previously, the party had insisted that either the next president or the prime minister should represent the majority party in the parliament.

According to the draft platform, United Russia's top three objectives are: creating an innovative economy, fighting corruption and reversing the country's demographic crisis. To achieve these goals, the party proposes measures such as linking the length of prison terms handed to officials to the size of the bribes they accept. It would also extend to seven years the time new mothers could stay home with their children without forfeiting their eligibility for higher pensions. The document is filled with praise for the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, though it also contains carefully worded criticism of the current lack of economic diversification, corruption and the ineffective bureaucracy.