Vedomosti has obtained a copy
of the main points of the new United Russia programme, which is due to be
adopted at the party's congress on November 21. The full programme, which is
still under development, will be far more comprehensive, says Deputy Secretary
of the Presidium of the Party's General Council Yury Shuvalov. It is still being discussed in the regions, and Mr Shuvalov hopes these discussions will
help to flesh out the platform with more specific initiatives. The programme will
be presented to the congress by the Supreme Council Chairman Boris Gryzlov.
The
20-page document consists of three main sections: "Russia
is one", "Russia is all of
us", and "Russia
is our future". The first section deals with values, the second with social
policy and the third with implementing a long-term development strategy for Russia,
Mr Shuvalov explains. Ideologically
the party stands for Russian conservatism rooted in the 2020 strategy. United Russia has declared
that it is ready to assume "historical and political responsibility" for its
implementation.
The
section concerning the party's values lists the five objectives of "Putin's Plan", which include making the
country more competitive and ensuring a new quality of life. The section on "civic
mindedness and awareness of the law" talks about the party's commitment to
sovereign democracy (without mentioning that the term was coined by Vladislav
Surkov, deputy chief of the President's Executive Office). The "foundation of
the policy document" is Dmitry Medvedev's article "Onward, Russia!" which addresses three socio-economic ills
that Russia
needs to overcome (economic backwardness, corruption and paternalism).
Party
members promise to work to further modernise the tax system, making it "less
burdensome for citizens". The crisis is only mentioned at the very end of the
document, along with an expression of hope that
"our common values" and innovation will help Russia cope with its aftermath.
The
two previous party programmes were adopted on the eve of the 2003 and 2007
elections. The first draft of the new platform was drawn up back in November
2008, but its adoption was postponed by a year. Mr Shuvalov stresses that the new platform does not revise any of the
main premises, but rather elaborates on certain elements.
United
Russia
has no illusions that the party programme will be read by anyone other than
party activists, journalists and experts, says political scientist Alexei
Makarkin. While back in Soviet times the CPSU programme was read and studied at
schools and universities, United Russia's programme, which is much shorter and
simpler, will only be used, if at all, as a source of campaign slogans that
will hopefully rouse the electorate.
Vera
Kholmogorova
