Managing opposition in a hybrid regime: Just Russia and parastatal opposition

Slavic Review

Volumn 68, Issue 3, 2009, Pages

  March, Luke ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 70349630601     PISSN: 00376779     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/s0037677900019707     Document Type: Article

References (129)

1. Some early examples of this view are: Larry Diamond, "Thinking about Hybrid Regimes," Journal of Democracy 13, no.2 (April 2002): 21-35;
2. Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way, "The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism," Journal of Democracy 13, no. 2 (April 2002): 51-65;
3. and Graeme Gill, "A New Turn to Authoritarian Rule in Russia?" Democratization 13, no. 1 (February 2006): 58-77.
4. For some notable exceptions to the view that Russia is not a democracy, see "Russia Profile Weekly Experts Panel: Russian Presidential Election-Affirming Democracy or Confirming Autocracy?" at www.russiaprofile.org for 7 March 2008 (last accessed 15 May 2009).
5. Richard Sakwa, "'New Cold War' or Twenty Years' Crisis? Russia and International Politics," International Affairs 84, no.2 (March 2008): 241-267 insists that Russia's democratic potential is still rosier than its bleak international image suggests.
6. An excellent account of recent reforms to the party system can be found in Kenneth Wilson, "Party-System Development under Putin," Post-Soviet Affairs 22, no.4 (October-December 2006): 314-48.
7. Studies of United Russia and its antecedents before this volume include Hans Oversloot and Ruben Verheul, "The Party of Power in Russian Politics," Acta Politica: International Journal of Political Science 35, no. 2 (Summer 2000): 123-45;
8. Regina Smyth, "Building State Capacity from the Inside Out: Parties of Power and the Success of the President's Reform Agenda in Russia," Politics and Society 30, no. 4 (December 2002): 555-78;
9. Zoe Knox, Pete Lentini, and Brad Williams, "Parties of Power and Russian Politics: A Victory of the State over Civil Society?" Problems of Post-Communism 53, no. 1 (January-February 2006): 3-14;
10. and Andrew Konitzer and Stephen K. Wegren, "Federalism and Political Recentralization in the Russian Federation: United Russia as the Party of Power," Publius 36, no. 4 (Fall 2006): 503-522
11. 4. A notable exception is Vladimir Gel'man, "Political Opposition in Russia: A Dying Species?" Post-Soviet Affairs 21, no.3 (July-September 2005): 226-246 (Pubitemid 41694379)
12. Robert Alan Dahl, ed., Political Oppositions in Western Democracies (New Haven, 1966).
13. "Just Russia" is preferred to some other translations (e.g., "AJust Russia," "Russia of Justice") by analogy to "United Russia" and to others (e.g., "Fair Russia") because its slogan "social justice" is a recognized, if disputed, left-wing term.
14. Vladimir Pribylovskii, quoted in Nabi Abdullaev, "New Party Says Kremlin Knows Best," Moscow Times, 30 October 2006. Two other analysts holding this view are Boris Kagarlitskii and Boris Makarenko (partly).
15. For examples, see Georgy Bovt, "A Test-Tube Party," Russia Profile 4, no.1 (27 February 2007): 10;
16. Alexei Makarkin, "Election Speculations," Russia Profile 4, no. 8 (3 September 2007): 7-8. Vitalii Tretiakov and Igor Bunin expressed similar views.
17. Larry Diamond, "Is the Third Wave Over?" Journal of Democracy 7, no.3 (July 1996): 20-37,
18. and Diamond, "Thinking about Hybrid Regimes," 21-35.
19. On "feckless pluralism" and "dominant power politics," see Thomas Carothers, "The End of the Transition Paradigm," Journal of Democracy 13, no.1 (January 2002): 5-21
20. . On "electoral authoritarianism," see Andreas Schedler, "The Menu of Manipulation," Journal of Democracy 13, no. 2 (April 2002) : 36 -50,
21. and Andreas Schedler, "From Electoral Authoritarianism to Democratic Consolidation," in Russell Crandall, Guadalupe Paz, and Riordan Roett, eds., Mexico's Democracy at Work: Political and Electoral Dynamics (Boulder, Colo., 2004), 9-38. On "competitive authoritarianism,"
22. see Levitsky and Way, "The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism. "
23. Diamond, "Is the Third Wave Over?" 25.
24. For the concept of "hegemonic party systems," see Giovanni Sartori, Parties and Party Systems: A Framework for Analysis (Cambridge, Eng., 1976), 230-238
25. Schedler, "Menu of Manipulation," 36-37.1 prefer the term electoral authoritarian to terms such as managed pluralism because it highlights that elite authority and control rather than pluralism are the driving rationales of the political regime and also embeds Russia within a rich comparative literature. This is, however, not at all to assert that an authoritarian Russia is a "USSR-lite" or has no democratic potential.
26. Dorothy J. Solinger, "Ending One-Party Dominance: Korea, Taiwan, Mexico," Journal of Democracy 12, no.1 (January 2001): 31.
27. Nikolas K. Gvosdev, "Mexico and Russia: Mirror Images?" Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization 10, no.4 (Fall 2002): 493.
28. Nikolas K. Gvosdev, "Mexico and Russia: Mirror Images?" Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization 10, no.4 (2002): 493. Ibid.
29. Hermann Giliomee and Charles Simkins, eds., The Awkward Embrace: One-Party Domination and Democracy (Amsterdam, 1999).
30. For example, see Schedler, "Menu of Manipulation."
31. Gvosdev, "Mexico and Russia."
32. The term syncretic hegemony is my own but cf. Giliomee and Simkins, eds., The Awkward Embrace.
33. These parties included the Democratic Korean Party, the Democratic Society Party, and the Korean People's Party. Youngmi Kim, e-mail communication, 6 March 2008.
34. Steve Wuhs, e-mail communication, 21 February 2008.
35. José Antonio Crespo, "Party Competition in Mexico: Evolution and Prospects," in Kevin J. Middlebrook, ed., Dilemmas of Political Change in Mexico (London, 2003), 57-82.
36. Festus O. Egwaikhide and Victor Adefemi Isumonah, "Nigeria Paralysed: Sociopolitical Life under General Sani Abacha," Africa Development 26, nos. 3-4 (2001): 219-241
37. Julius O. Ihonvbere, Nigeria: The Politics of Adjustment and Democracy (New Brunswick, N.J., 1994).
38. Ghita Ionescu, The Politics of the European Communist States (London, 1967).
39. Vladimir Ryzhkov, cited in Vladimir Gel'man, "The Transformation of Russia's Party System," Russian Analytical Digest, no.19 (17 April 2007): 12-14.
40. For example, Stephen White, Russia's New Politics: The Management of a Postcommunist Society (Cambridge, Eng., 2000),
41. and Timothy J. Colton and Michael McFaul, Popular Choice and Managed Democracy: The Russian Elections of 1999 and 2000 (Washington, D.C, 2003).
42. Wilson, "Party-System Development under Putin";
43. Oversloot and Verheul, "The Party of Power in Russian Politics";
44. Smyth, "Building State Capacity from the Inside Out";
45. Knox, Lentini, and Williams, "Parties of Power and Russian Politics";
46. and Konitzer and Wegren, "Federalism and Political Recentralization in the Russian Federation."
47. For example, Knox, Lentini, and Williams, "Parties of Power and Russian Politics."
48. Henry E. Hale, Why Not Parties in Russia?Democracy, Federalism and the State (Cambridge, Eng., 2006).
49. Richard Sakwa, Putin: Russia's Choice, 2d ed. (London, 2007), 101-102
50. Hans Oversloot and Ruben Verheul, "Managing Democracy: Political Parties and the State in Russia," Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics 22, no.3 (September 2006): 383-405.
51. Andrew Wilson, Virtual Politics: Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World (New Haven, 2005). On the concept of virtuality,
52. see also Oksana Gaman-Golutvina, "Politika: Partii i vlast'," Svobodnaia mysl' 21, no.9 (2004): 85-92.
53. Wilson, Virtual Politics, 38.
54. As just one example, Wilson's allegation that communist leader Gennadii Ziuganov took money from "father of perestroika" Aleksandr Iakovlev is scarcely credible (they were political enemies), and its source is anticommunist kompromat.
55. See Wilson, Virtual Politics, 224.
56. Wilson, Virtual Politics Ibid., 46.
57. For example, Andrew Wilson, "The Putin Succession" (unpublished paper, 2008).
58. Surkov's statement at "Vstrecha gruppy deputatov ot Rossiiskoi partii ZHIZNI s zamestitelem Rukovoditelia Administratsii Prezidenta Rossiiskoi Federatsii - pomoshchnikom Prezidenta Rossiiskoi Federatsii V. Iu. Surkovym," at the Web site of Russian Party of Life, www.RPVITA.ru (accessed 22 May 2007; no longer available). This announcement was allegedly not for public consumption,
59. see "Goszakaz na partiiu budushchego," 16 August 2006, at www.lenta.ru/articles/2006/08/16/surkov/(last accessed 15 May 2009).
60. "Mironov,Sergei,"Lentopediia, 19 December 2007, at www.lenta.ru/lib/14159448/ full.htm (last accessed 15 May 2009). See also
61. www.mironov.info/Publications/6226.html (last accessed 15 May 2009).
62. For more on the Russian Party of Life, see Wilson, Virtual Politics, 93.
63. Wilson, Virtual Politics, 94.
64. See also Knox, Lentini, and Williams, "Parties of Power and Russian Politics,"
65. and Laura Belin, "Ivan Rybkin: An Insider Falls Out," RFE/RL special report The Russian Federation Votes 2003-2004, at www.rferl.org/ specials/russianelection/ bio/rybkin.asp (accessed 14 March 2008; no longer available).
66. Luke March, "The Russian Communist Party in 2000: A Cosmetic Opposition," Analysis of Current Events 12, no.7-8 (December 2000): 15-19.
67. Anna Nikolaeva and Elena Rudneva, "Urok predannosti," Vedomosti, 29 lune 2007, 2.
68. Hale, Why Not Parties in Russia ? 229.
69. Dmitrii Rogozin, Vrag naroda (Moscow, 2006), 380.
70. Putevoditel' po vyboram:Politicheskaia Rossiia-2007(Moscow, 2007), 211.
71. "Press-vypusk no 656: Sotsializm v Rossii: Vozmozhen li on? I nuzhen li?" at wciom .ru/arkhiv/tematicheskii-arkhiv/item/single/4243.html (last accessed 15 May 2009).
72. Quote from Georgy Bovt, "Competition from Above," Russia Profile 4, no.2 (19 March 2007): 13. For other discussion,
73. see Aleksandr Buzgalin, "Pokhorony KPRF okazalis' prezhdevremennym," Nezavisimaia gazeta, 16 March 2007, 3,
74. and Aleksei Kiva, "Po modeli 'suverennoi demokratii,' " Literaturnaia gazeta, no. 10 (14-20 March 2007), at www .lgz.ru/archives/html- arch/lg102007/Polosy/2-1.htm (last accessed 15 May 2009).
75. Aleksei Makarkin, vice president of the Center of Political Technologies, interview, Moscow, 16 April 2008.
76. Markov quoted in Dmitry Babich, "Another Vote, Same Results," Russia Profile 4, no.3 (April 2007): 7-8.
77. Surkov's statement at "Vstrecha gruppy deputatov."
78. Sergei Mironov quoted in Dmitrii Vladimirov, "Odtrytie solnechnoi sistemy: Mironov gotov ob"ediniť vsekh levykh, krome kommunistov," Rossiiskaia gazeta, 13 April 2007, at www.rg.ru/2007/04/13/ mironov.html(last accessed 15 May 2009).
79. Jonas Bernstein, "Russia: Kremlin 'Parties of Power' Sweep Regional Ballots," 13 March 2007, RFE/RL Web site at www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/ 2007/03/9ac0ed04-a263-43e3-bc5c-f31176f51c3a.html (last accessed 15 May 2009).
80. See Alexei Titkov, Party Number Four: Rodina: Whence and Why? (Moscow, 2006).
81. For an overview of different scenarios, see interview with Aleksei Ziudin, "Novaia 'Zhizn" v polutorapartiinoi sisteme," at Politlcom.ru (accessed 10 September 2006; no longer available).
82. Sakwa, Putin, 81.
83. For example, Andrei Smirnov, "Tatar Treaty Suggests Dissent Inside Kremlin on Regional Policy," Eurasia Daily Monitor 4, no.33 (15 February 2007),
84. at www.jamestown. org/programs/edm/single/?tx-ttnews[tt-news]= 32494&tx-ttnews[backPid]=171&no -cache=1 (last accessed 15 May 2009),
85. and "Sergei Mironov-lichnosť neordinarnaia," Vechernaia Moskva, at www.vmdaily.ru/article.php?aid=43665 (last accessed 15 May 2009). Aleksei Makarkin sees the siloviki as fundamentally disinterested in party building and skeptical towards Just Russia. Just Russia originated largely due to Mironov's personal initiative; he succeeded in persuading Putin and thereby Surkov. Makarkin, interview, Moscow, 16 April 2008.
86. Surkov's statement at "Vstrecha gruppy deputatov."
87. For example "Vstrecha s Uchastimami Mezhdunarodnogo Diskussionnogo Kluba 'Valdai,'" at www.kremlin.ru/text/appears/2007/09/144011.shtml (last accessed 15 May 2009).
88. "Transcript of Press Conference with the Russian and Foreign Media, 1 February 2007, Round Hall, Kremlin, Moscow," at www.kremlin.ru (last accessed 15 May 2009).
89. Surkov's statement at "Vstrecha gruppy deputatov."
90. "Partiinyi peredel," 15 August 2006, at lenta.ru/articles/2006/ 08/15/party/ (last accessed 15 May 2009).
91. "'Spravedlivaia Rossiia' snova stanovit́sia Partiei zhizni," Nezavisimaia gazeta, 11 December 2007, at www.ng.ru/politics/2007- 12-11/3-esery.html (last accessed 15 May 2009).
92. Natal'ia Kostenko, "'Spravedlivaia Rossiia' organizuet molodezhnyi front," Nezavisimaia gazeta, 15 October 2007, at www.ng.ru/politics/2007- 10-15/3-esery.html (last accessed 15 May 2009).
93. Igor' Romanov, "Partiitsy rvut chlenov profsoiuzov na chasti," Nezavisimaia gazeta, 26 April 2007, at www.ng.ru/printed/77801 (last accessed 15 May 2009).
94. Andrei Riskin, "Pod raznymi znamenami na meste shagom marsh," Nezavisimaia gazeta, 12 March 2007, at www.ng.ru/ngregions/2007-03-12/13-region. html (last accessed 15 May 2009).
95. "A Just Division," Moscow News, 5 July 2007, at www.mnweekly.ru/politics/ 20070705/55260906.html (last accessed 15 May 2009). Babakov is also former chair of the board of directors of TsKA football club. Lebedev's personal fortune is estimated at $3.6 billion, while another prominent party supporter was Andrei Molchanov, former head of LSR, the largest construction company in northwest Russia, with a personal fortune estimated at $660 million. By 2008, Lebedev had split from Just Russia.
96. Dmitry Shusharin, "Nationalism Gives Way to Social Promises in Russia," RIA Novosti, 13 March 2007, at en.rian.ru/analysis/20070313/ 61934418.html (last accessed 15 May 2009).
97. Natal'ia Morar', "'Chernaia kassa' Kremlia," 10 December 2007, at newtimes.ru/ magazine/issue-44/article-7.htm (last accessed 15 May 2009).
98. "Predvybornaia programma: 'Doverie vo imia budushchego,' " at www.spravedlivo .ru/information/section-11/section-54 (last accessed 15 May 2009).
99. "Programmnoe zaiavlenie partii 'Spravedlivaia Rossiia: Rodina/Pensionery/ Zhizn,'" at spravedlivo.ru/about/documents/section-371 (accessed 1 March 2008; no longer available);
100. and "Politicheskaia platform partii," at www.spravedlivo.ru/ about/ documents/section-599 (accessed 1 March 2008; no longer available).
101. Boris Makarenko and Tatiana Stanovaia, "Sotsializm vmesto sotsial-demokratii," at Politktom.ru (accessed 10 March 2007; no longer available).
102. For example, see the interview with Mironov: "My nakhodims'ia v oppozitsii k politicheskomu monopolizmu," at www.spravedlivo.ru/press/ section-326/564.smx (accessed 13 February 2007; no longer available);
103. "Sergei Mironov: Sotsialnyi ideal i sovremmenoi politike," at www.spravedlivo.ru/press/section-326/1427.smx (accessed 25 February 2008; no longer available);
104. and the party manifesto, at www.spravedlivo.ru/ english?action= articles&id+3 (accessed 25 February 2008; no longer available).
105. Ivan Iartsev, "Esery podniali znamia pobedy," at Politkom.ru (accessed 26 April 2007; no longer available).
106. Wilson, Virtual Politics, 134.
107. Data from Russian Central Electoral Commission, at www.cikrf.ru/cikrf/ actual/ regvibory-110507.jsp (last accessed 15 May 2009).
108. For details on the 2007 elections, see Boris Makarenko and Aleksei Makarkin, "Regional'nye vybory-2007: Presentatsiia 'Spravedlivoi Rossii,'" at Politkom.ru (accessed 12 March 2007; no longer available).
109. Carl Schreck, "Dirty Tricks Popular in Campaign Battles," Moscow Times, 9 March 2007, at www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/03/09/011. html (last accessed 15 May 2009). Chernogorov never recovered his authority after this defeat and resigned in April 2008.
110. Cited in Johnson's Russia List, no.217 (28 September 2006) at www.cdi.org/russia/ johnson/default.cfm (accessed 25 March 2008; no longer available)
111. Olga Korotkova, "General'naia repetitsiia vyborov v Gosdumu: Rossiia opiat́ polevela," Komsomolskaia pravda, 13 March 2007, at www.kp.ru/daily/23868.7/64403 (last accessed 15 May 2009).
112. On the success of 31-year-old communist Roman Grebennikov in Volgograd's mayoral election on 20 May 2007, see "Volgogradskaia bitva," 21 May 2007, at www.lenta .ru/articles/2007/05/21/red (last accessed 15 May 2009).
113. Ivan Iartsev, "Piterskaia partiia-edinaia i spravedlivaia," at Politkom.ru (accessed 21 March 2007; no longer available).
114. "Vystuplenie Sergeia Mironova na Tsentral'nom sověte partii 'Spravedlivaia Rossiia,'" (12 April 2007) at www.spravedlivo.ru/about/ section-10/section-297/1805.smx (accessed 14 February 2008; no longer available).
115. Igoŕ Dmitriev, "Patriocheskii gambit," Moskovskie novosti, 6-12 July 2007, at www .mn.ru/issue/2007-26-27 (accessed 19 March 2008; no longer available).
116. Andrei Kamakin, "Operatsiia 'S Novoi Dumoi,' " Itogi, 8 January 2007, atwww.itogi .ru/Paper2007.nsf/Article/Itogi-2007-01-06-1534.html (last accessed 15 May 2009).
117. Tat'iana Stanovaia, "Sud'ba 'Spravedlivoi Rossii,'" at Politkom.ru (accessed 29 October 2007; no longer available).
118. Kseniia Veretennikova, "'Ura!' Tovarishchi," Vremia novostei, 22 October 2007, at www.vremya.ru/2007/193/4/189654.html (last accessed 15 May 2009).
119. For example, Aleksei Ziudin, "Ataka na Mironova," Moskovskie novosti, 26 October-1 November 2007, at www.mn.ru/issue/2007-42-7 (accesssed 19 March 2008; no longer available);
120. by die end of 2007, Just Russia was only the fifth best-funded party with assets of $14.98 million, see www.cikrf.ru/politparty/finance/rashod.jsp (last accessed 15 May 2009).
121. For allegations that Just Russia's result was artificially inflated, see Nikolai Petrov, "The Consequences of the State Duma Elections for Russia's Electoral System," Russian Analytical Digest, no.32 (14 December 2007): 5-8.
122. For Just Russia compared with electoral forecasts, see "The Results of the Duma Elections," Russian Analytical Digest, no. 32 (14 December 2007): 10.
123. Igor' Romanov, Ivan Rodin, and Natal'ia Kostenko, "Eseram dali dobro: Novaia Duma skoree vsego okazhetsia chetyrekhpartiinoi," Nezavisimaia gazeta, 29 November 2007, at www.ng.ru/politics/2007-11-29/1-esery. html (last accessed 15 May 2009).
124. Ksenia Veretennikova and Andrei Denisov, "Natsproekt 'Dmitrii Medvedev': Vladimir Putin nazval tret'ego prezidenta Rossii," Vremia novostei, 11 December 2007,1-2, at www.vremya.ru/2007/227/4/193865-html (last accessed 15 May 2009).
125. "Partiia regional'noi vlasti," Kommersant", 14 March 2008, at www.kommersant .ru/daily.aspx?date=20080304 (last accessed 15 May 2009).
126. Programma Partii "Spravedlivaia Rossiia "at the Just Russia Web site, www.spravedlivo .ru (last accessed 15 May 2009).
127. Especially proposals for an elected Federation Council and the restoration of the pre-2007 Duma electoral system.
128. Demokratiia: Razvitie Rossiiskoi modeli (Moscow, 2008), at newtimes.ru/Files/111/ democratic.doc (last accessed 15 May 2009).
129. On Boris Gryzlov and Mironov's friendship, see "Mironov, Sergei," Lentapediia, 19 December 2007, at www.lenta.ru/lib/14159448/full. htm (last accessed 15 May 2009).