Fair Russia
Encyclopedia
A Just Russia, also translated as Fair Russia, is a social democratic
political party
in Russia
currently holding 38 of the 450 seats in the State Duma
. It was formed on October 28, 2006, as a merger of Rodina
, the Russian Party of Life
and the Russian Pensioners' Party
. Later, 6 further minor parties joined. A Just Russia's platform is based on the principles of fairness, freedom and solidarity. It calls for a "New Socialism of the 21st Century", which guarantees the rights and freedoms of the individual and ensures the proper functioning of a welfare state
. In 2011, Nikolai Levichev
was elected as party chairman, succeeding Sergey Mironov
who led the party in 2006–2011.
, Party of Life and the Party of Pensioners. Of these, the nationalist Rodina (Motherland) was the largest, having won 9% of the popular vote in the 2003 Duma elections
. At the time of the merger Rodina had 37 seats in the Duma. Party of Pensioners had gained 3% of the vote, failing the to cross the 5% election threshold; it had also been weakened by infighting in its leadership. The social-democratic
Party of Life, led by Sergey Mironov
, was still relatively young and had only won one regional election.
Rodina, being the only party of the three with seats in the Duma, was the dominant party in the unification process. In simultaneous conventions held in Moscow
on 26 August 2006, Party of Life and the Party of Pensioners decided to join Rodina. Two months later, on 28 October 2006, the new party held its founding congress, in which it was decided to change the party's name to A Just Russia. Mironov was elected the unified party's chairman, while Rodina's former chairman Alexander Babakov became the secretary of the central council presidium, and the leader of the Party of Pensioners Igor Zotov was appointed secretary of the political council. The next year, A Just Russia expanded further, absorbing 3 additional small parties in 2007. These included the People's Party
, Party of Entrepreneurship Development and the Party of Constitutional Democrats.
At the party's founding convention, chairman Sergey Mironov expressed support for the direction given to the country by President Vladimir Putin
, claiming that "we will not allow anyone to veer from it after Putin leaves his post in 2008." At the same time, he harshly criticised United Russia
and what he called the largest party's "monopoly" of the nation's political, economic and administrative resources. Mironov characterised A Just Russia as a new "leftist political force" and a "hard opposition", saying that "if United Russia is the party of power, we will become the party of the people".
According to Professor Richard Sakwa
, the creation of A Just Russia was supported by the siloviki faction in the Presidential administration
; the aim was to create a more left-oriented alternative to United Russia. The leading force behind United Russia, Vladislav Surkov
, opposed the creation of the new party.
In October 2006, shortly after its creation, A Just Russia participated in its first elections, when the party's candidate Dmitry Kuzmin won the mayoral race in Samara
. The March 2007 regional elections were dominated by United Russia, but A Just Russia also put up a strong performance. In particular, the new party won a majority in the regional parliament in Stavropol Krai
.
The emergence of A Just Russia changed Russia's political landscape and demonstrated that the country's leadership had been split between two parties. United Russia supporters in the presidential administration grew wary of the challenge posed by A Just Russia, worrying that United Russia would lose its position as "the president's party". Before the 2007 Duma elections, the Kremlin had withdrawn its support of A Just Russia, and threw its weight entirely behind United Russia.
On 19 January 2007, in a press conference dedicated to upcoming Duma elections, Secretary of the Central Party Council of A Just Russia Alexander Babakov announced that the party had approximately 300,000 members.
In May 2007, A Just Russia's chairman Sergey Mironov
proposed a merger between his party and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation
, in order to create a new unified socialist party. Mironov invited all "honest socialists" to join the party. However, his proposal was rejected by Gennady Zyuganov
, leader of the CPRF
, who claimed that A Just Russia's claim to be a leftist party was "a charade".
, President Vladimir Putin
—the country's most popular politician—explicitly and unequivocally endorsed the United Russia
party, and decided to head its national list. Putin's decision significantly changed the election campaign and resulted in a massive boost to United Russia's popularity. This represented a harsh blow to A Just Russia, which also had hoped to ride on Putin's popularity. Polls suggested the party could have difficulties crossing the 7% election threshold.
A Just Russia appointed three persons to its national list: chairman Sergey Mironov
; Svetlana Goryacheva (a former member of the CPRF
); and Sergey Shargunova, a 27-year old fiction author. In its regional lists, A Just Russia had 553 candidates, taking its total number of candidates to 556. This was more than the Communists (515) but less than United Russia (600). Although originally positioned as a centre-left party, under Mironov's leadership A Just Russia campaigned as a socialist alternative to the Communists.
In the end, A Just Russia received 5,383,639 votes (7.74%), becoming the fourth party to cross the 7% election threshold and enter the Duma, after United Russia
, Communist Party of the Russian Federation
and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
. As a result, A Just Russia got 38 of the 450 seats (8.4%) in the Duma. The party received its highest share of votes in Astrakhan
(20%), Saint Petersburg
(16%) and Stavropol
(13%). In Saint Petersburg, the hometown of chairman Mironov, A Just Russia became the second largest party. Mironov said he would not take up his seat in the Duma himself, but instead continue as the Chairman of the Federation Council
. A Just Russia's performance in the elections was a slight disappointment, especially since one of its predecessors, Rodina
had won 9% of the votes in the 2003 elections.
as their candidate for the 2008 Presidential elections.
On April 25, 2008, A Just Russia held its third annual congress, where the party expelled thousands of members who were not aware that they were members. The party's charter was amended at the congress to make mergers easier. The congress also disbanded the party's politburo and transferred its functions to the Central Council. The politburo's chairman, Nikolai Levichev
who also heads A Just Russia's faction in the State Duma
, was elected as the council's first secretary.
On 30 June 2008, in the XXIII Social International Congress, A Just Russia was accepted into the Socialist International
, a worldwide organization of democratic socialist and labour political parties.
The United Socialist Party of Russia
and the Russian Ecological Party "The Greens" merged into the party in 2008. This means that the total of parties that have merged into A Just Russia is nine.
In the 2007-2011 State Duma, A Just Russia became a strong supporter of the Medvedev modernisation programme
, endorsing President Dmitry Medvedev
's view that Russia must move towards a diversified post-industrial economy and democratisation of its political system. A Just Russia also advocated restoration of direct gubernatorial elections and lowering the Duma election threshold from 7% to 3%. A Just Russia voted against Prime Minister Putin's anti-crisis plan in April 2009 and also voted against the governments budgets in 2010 and 2011. According to researcher Luke March, in the 2007-2011 State Duma, A Just Russia clearly moved towards Medvedev. The party has declared absolute opposition to Putin's government, while remaining supportive of Medvedev.
. The party holds two committee chairmanships: Committee on Family, Women and Children Affairs (headed by Elena Mizulina) and Committee on Science and High Technologies (headed by Valeriy Chereshnev). In the upper house, the Federation Council
, the party has 12 members, representing the interests of different regions. On the sub-national level, the party has a total of 309 deputies in 66 regional assemblies.
The party currently has 400,000 members and claims to be the largest left-wing
party in Russia. It has regional branches in all federal subjects of Russia
.
Support for the party was 5% in a poll held in March 2011.
where all citizens are equal, the cliff between rich and poor is small, and individual rights are guaranteed. The state should be responsible for the well-being of the citizens, while citizens should be responsible for the effectiveness of the state. The party defines its ideology as "New Socialism of the 21st century", but emphasises that it does not wish to return to "Soviet bureaucratic socialism". In the party platform, New Socialism is defined as the antithesis of "barbarous, oligarchic capitalism". The ideology does not eliminate the market but transfers power over the market from the oligarch
s to the people. For New Socialism, the individual is of central value.
Improving the socio-economic position of average Russians is the primary aim of A Just Russia. In the State Duma, the party emphasises it's role as "constructive opposition" that opposes high-level corruption and supports further democratisation of the political system. In the 2007-2011 Duma, A Just Russia declared absolute opposition to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
's government, voting against the government's budgets in 2010 and 2011, while remaining strongly supportive of President Dmitry Medvedev
and his modernisation programme
.
The party wishes to replace Russia's flat 13% income tax with progressive taxation, and demands that spending on employment programs is increased to 1% of GDP.
Although established as a centre-left
party, under Sergey Mironov
's leadership, the party's ideology became closer to social democracy
and it presented itself as a socialist alternative to the Communist Party of the Russian Federation
.
, a member of the Forum of Socialists of the Commonwealth of Independent States, cooperates with several social democratic and socialist organisations around the world, including the Party of European Socialists
and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
, a European Parliament
group.
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
currently holding 38 of the 450 seats in the State Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
. It was formed on October 28, 2006, as a merger of Rodina
Rodina
Rodina or Motherland-National Patriotic Union was one of the four parties that controlled seats in the Russian legislature in 2003-2007...
, the Russian Party of Life
Russian Party of Life
The Russian Party of Life was a political party in Russia, led by Sergey Mironov . According to its website, the party was liberal on economic issues and nationalistic on everything else...
and the Russian Pensioners' Party
Russian Pensioners' Party
The Russian Pensioners' Party is a political party in Russia.The party was founded as the Party of Pensioners in 1997...
. Later, 6 further minor parties joined. A Just Russia's platform is based on the principles of fairness, freedom and solidarity. It calls for a "New Socialism of the 21st Century", which guarantees the rights and freedoms of the individual and ensures the proper functioning of a welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
. In 2011, Nikolai Levichev
Nikolai Levichev
Nikolai Vladimirovich Levichev is a Russian politician, leader of A Just Russia party, leader of A Just Russia group in the State Duma.He was elected the party leader on April 16, 2011 at the 5th party congress in Moscow.-References:...
was elected as party chairman, succeeding Sergey Mironov
Sergey Mironov
Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov , is a former chairman of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament and a leading figure in the A Just Russia party.- Biography :...
who led the party in 2006–2011.
Creation
A Just Russia was created on 28 October 2006 via a merger of three parties: RodinaRodina
Rodina or Motherland-National Patriotic Union was one of the four parties that controlled seats in the Russian legislature in 2003-2007...
, Party of Life and the Party of Pensioners. Of these, the nationalist Rodina (Motherland) was the largest, having won 9% of the popular vote in the 2003 Duma elections
Russian legislative election, 2003
Legislative elections were held in the Russian Federation on December 7, 2003. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma , the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia ....
. At the time of the merger Rodina had 37 seats in the Duma. Party of Pensioners had gained 3% of the vote, failing the to cross the 5% election threshold; it had also been weakened by infighting in its leadership. The social-democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
Party of Life, led by Sergey Mironov
Sergey Mironov
Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov , is a former chairman of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament and a leading figure in the A Just Russia party.- Biography :...
, was still relatively young and had only won one regional election.
Rodina, being the only party of the three with seats in the Duma, was the dominant party in the unification process. In simultaneous conventions held in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
on 26 August 2006, Party of Life and the Party of Pensioners decided to join Rodina. Two months later, on 28 October 2006, the new party held its founding congress, in which it was decided to change the party's name to A Just Russia. Mironov was elected the unified party's chairman, while Rodina's former chairman Alexander Babakov became the secretary of the central council presidium, and the leader of the Party of Pensioners Igor Zotov was appointed secretary of the political council. The next year, A Just Russia expanded further, absorbing 3 additional small parties in 2007. These included the People's Party
People's Party of the Russian Federation
The People's Party of the Russian Federation was a political party in Russia. The leader of the party was a conservative politician Gennady Raikov....
, Party of Entrepreneurship Development and the Party of Constitutional Democrats.
At the party's founding convention, chairman Sergey Mironov expressed support for the direction given to the country by President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, claiming that "we will not allow anyone to veer from it after Putin leaves his post in 2008." At the same time, he harshly criticised United Russia
United Russia
United Russia is a centrist political party in Russia and the largest party in the country, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties...
and what he called the largest party's "monopoly" of the nation's political, economic and administrative resources. Mironov characterised A Just Russia as a new "leftist political force" and a "hard opposition", saying that "if United Russia is the party of power, we will become the party of the people".
According to Professor Richard Sakwa
Richard Sakwa
Richard Sakwa is an expert in the field of Russian and Eastern European communist and post-communist politics. Sakwa is Professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent.-Career:...
, the creation of A Just Russia was supported by the siloviki faction in the Presidential administration
Presidential Administration of Russia
The Presidential Administration of Russia ) is the executive office of Russia's president created by a decree of Boris Yeltsin on 19 July 1991 as an institution supporting the activity of the president and vice-president The Presidential Administration of Russia (also known as Staff of Russia’s...
; the aim was to create a more left-oriented alternative to United Russia. The leading force behind United Russia, Vladislav Surkov
Vladislav Surkov
Vladislav Yuryevich Surkov is a Russian businessman and politician. Currently he is a First Deputy Chief of Staff of the President of the Russian Federation and a top aide to Vladimir Putin. Vladislav Surkov is widely seen as the main ideologist of the Kremlin...
, opposed the creation of the new party.
First election successess
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
. The March 2007 regional elections were dominated by United Russia, but A Just Russia also put up a strong performance. In particular, the new party won a majority in the regional parliament in Stavropol Krai
Stavropol Krai
Stavropol Krai is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Stavropol. Population: -Geography:Stavropol Krai encompasses the central part of the Fore-Caucasus and most of the northern slopes of Caucasus Major...
.
The emergence of A Just Russia changed Russia's political landscape and demonstrated that the country's leadership had been split between two parties. United Russia supporters in the presidential administration grew wary of the challenge posed by A Just Russia, worrying that United Russia would lose its position as "the president's party". Before the 2007 Duma elections, the Kremlin had withdrawn its support of A Just Russia, and threw its weight entirely behind United Russia.
On 19 January 2007, in a press conference dedicated to upcoming Duma elections, Secretary of the Central Party Council of A Just Russia Alexander Babakov announced that the party had approximately 300,000 members.
In May 2007, A Just Russia's chairman Sergey Mironov
Sergey Mironov
Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov , is a former chairman of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament and a leading figure in the A Just Russia party.- Biography :...
proposed a merger between his party and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Russian political party. It is the second major political party in the Russian Federation.-History:...
, in order to create a new unified socialist party. Mironov invited all "honest socialists" to join the party. However, his proposal was rejected by Gennady Zyuganov
Gennady Zyuganov
Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov is a Russian politician, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation , Chairman of the Union of Communist Parties - Communist Party of the Soviet Union , deputy of the State Duma , and a member of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe...
, leader of the CPRF
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Russian political party. It is the second major political party in the Russian Federation.-History:...
, who claimed that A Just Russia's claim to be a leftist party was "a charade".
2007 Duma elections
In the run-up to the December 2007 Duma electionsRussian legislative election, 2007
Legislative elections were held in the Russian Federation on 2 December 2007. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia . Eleven parties were included in the ballot, including Russia's largest party, United Russia, which was supported by...
, President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
—the country's most popular politician—explicitly and unequivocally endorsed the United Russia
United Russia
United Russia is a centrist political party in Russia and the largest party in the country, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties...
party, and decided to head its national list. Putin's decision significantly changed the election campaign and resulted in a massive boost to United Russia's popularity. This represented a harsh blow to A Just Russia, which also had hoped to ride on Putin's popularity. Polls suggested the party could have difficulties crossing the 7% election threshold.
A Just Russia appointed three persons to its national list: chairman Sergey Mironov
Sergey Mironov
Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov , is a former chairman of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament and a leading figure in the A Just Russia party.- Biography :...
; Svetlana Goryacheva (a former member of the CPRF
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Russian political party. It is the second major political party in the Russian Federation.-History:...
); and Sergey Shargunova, a 27-year old fiction author. In its regional lists, A Just Russia had 553 candidates, taking its total number of candidates to 556. This was more than the Communists (515) but less than United Russia (600). Although originally positioned as a centre-left party, under Mironov's leadership A Just Russia campaigned as a socialist alternative to the Communists.
In the end, A Just Russia received 5,383,639 votes (7.74%), becoming the fourth party to cross the 7% election threshold and enter the Duma, after United Russia
United Russia
United Russia is a centrist political party in Russia and the largest party in the country, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties...
, Communist Party of the Russian Federation
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Russian political party. It is the second major political party in the Russian Federation.-History:...
and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , Liberal'no-Demokraticheskaya Partiya Rossii is a political party in Russia. Since its founding in 1991, it has been led by the charismatic and controversial figure Vladimir Zhirinovsky...
. As a result, A Just Russia got 38 of the 450 seats (8.4%) in the Duma. The party received its highest share of votes in Astrakhan
Astrakhan
Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...
(20%), Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
(16%) and Stavropol
Stavropol
-International relations:-Twin towns/sister cities:Stavropol is twinned with: Des Moines, United States Béziers, France Pazardzhik, Bulgaria-External links:* **...
(13%). In Saint Petersburg, the hometown of chairman Mironov, A Just Russia became the second largest party. Mironov said he would not take up his seat in the Duma himself, but instead continue as the Chairman of the Federation Council
Federation Council
Federation Council may refer to:* Federation Council of Russia, the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia* Federation Council , an organization in the fictional Star Trek universe-See also:...
. A Just Russia's performance in the elections was a slight disappointment, especially since one of its predecessors, Rodina
Rodina
Rodina or Motherland-National Patriotic Union was one of the four parties that controlled seats in the Russian legislature in 2003-2007...
had won 9% of the votes in the 2003 elections.
Post-election
On 10 December 2007, A Just Russia was part of a coalition of parties which nominated Dmitry MedvedevDmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
as their candidate for the 2008 Presidential elections.
On April 25, 2008, A Just Russia held its third annual congress, where the party expelled thousands of members who were not aware that they were members. The party's charter was amended at the congress to make mergers easier. The congress also disbanded the party's politburo and transferred its functions to the Central Council. The politburo's chairman, Nikolai Levichev
Nikolai Levichev
Nikolai Vladimirovich Levichev is a Russian politician, leader of A Just Russia party, leader of A Just Russia group in the State Duma.He was elected the party leader on April 16, 2011 at the 5th party congress in Moscow.-References:...
who also heads A Just Russia's faction in the State Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
, was elected as the council's first secretary.
On 30 June 2008, in the XXIII Social International Congress, A Just Russia was accepted into the Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
, a worldwide organization of democratic socialist and labour political parties.
The United Socialist Party of Russia
United Socialist Party of Russia
The United Socialist Party of Russia was a socialist political party in Russia established in 2003, that succeeded the Spiritual Heritage movement. In the 2003 legislative elections it was part of the Rodina coalition that won 9.2 percent of the vote and 37 of the 450 seats in the Duma. In 2008...
and the Russian Ecological Party "The Greens" merged into the party in 2008. This means that the total of parties that have merged into A Just Russia is nine.
In the 2007-2011 State Duma, A Just Russia became a strong supporter of the Medvedev modernisation programme
Medvedev modernisation programme
The Medvedev modernisation programme is an initiative launched by President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev in 2009, which aims at modernising Russia's economy and society, decreasing the country's dependency on oil and gas revenues and creating a diversified economy based on high technology and innovation...
, endorsing President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
's view that Russia must move towards a diversified post-industrial economy and democratisation of its political system. A Just Russia also advocated restoration of direct gubernatorial elections and lowering the Duma election threshold from 7% to 3%. A Just Russia voted against Prime Minister Putin's anti-crisis plan in April 2009 and also voted against the governments budgets in 2010 and 2011. According to researcher Luke March, in the 2007-2011 State Duma, A Just Russia clearly moved towards Medvedev. The party has declared absolute opposition to Putin's government, while remaining supportive of Medvedev.
Current status
A Just Russia currently has 38 representatives in the 450-seat State DumaState Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
. The party holds two committee chairmanships: Committee on Family, Women and Children Affairs (headed by Elena Mizulina) and Committee on Science and High Technologies (headed by Valeriy Chereshnev). In the upper house, the Federation Council
Federation Council
Federation Council may refer to:* Federation Council of Russia, the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia* Federation Council , an organization in the fictional Star Trek universe-See also:...
, the party has 12 members, representing the interests of different regions. On the sub-national level, the party has a total of 309 deputies in 66 regional assemblies.
The party currently has 400,000 members and claims to be the largest left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
party in Russia. It has regional branches in all federal subjects of Russia
Federal subjects of Russia
Russia is a federation which, since March 1, 2008, consists of 83 federal subjects . In 1993, when the Constitution was adopted, there were 89 federal subjects listed...
.
Support for the party was 5% in a poll held in March 2011.
Platform
A Just Russia's main values are fairness, freedom and solidarity. The party platform calls for a welfare stateWelfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
where all citizens are equal, the cliff between rich and poor is small, and individual rights are guaranteed. The state should be responsible for the well-being of the citizens, while citizens should be responsible for the effectiveness of the state. The party defines its ideology as "New Socialism of the 21st century", but emphasises that it does not wish to return to "Soviet bureaucratic socialism". In the party platform, New Socialism is defined as the antithesis of "barbarous, oligarchic capitalism". The ideology does not eliminate the market but transfers power over the market from the oligarch
Oligarch
Oligarch may refer to:* A member of an oligarchy, a form of government* Business oligarch* Russian oligarch...
s to the people. For New Socialism, the individual is of central value.
Improving the socio-economic position of average Russians is the primary aim of A Just Russia. In the State Duma, the party emphasises it's role as "constructive opposition" that opposes high-level corruption and supports further democratisation of the political system. In the 2007-2011 Duma, A Just Russia declared absolute opposition to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
's government, voting against the government's budgets in 2010 and 2011, while remaining strongly supportive of President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
and his modernisation programme
Medvedev modernisation programme
The Medvedev modernisation programme is an initiative launched by President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev in 2009, which aims at modernising Russia's economy and society, decreasing the country's dependency on oil and gas revenues and creating a diversified economy based on high technology and innovation...
.
The party wishes to replace Russia's flat 13% income tax with progressive taxation, and demands that spending on employment programs is increased to 1% of GDP.
Although established as a centre-left
Centre-left
Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
party, under Sergey Mironov
Sergey Mironov
Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov , is a former chairman of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament and a leading figure in the A Just Russia party.- Biography :...
's leadership, the party's ideology became closer to social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
and it presented itself as a socialist alternative to the Communist Party of the Russian Federation
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Russian political party. It is the second major political party in the Russian Federation.-History:...
.
International cooperation
A Just Russia is an observer party in the Socialist InternationalSocialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
, a member of the Forum of Socialists of the Commonwealth of Independent States, cooperates with several social democratic and socialist organisations around the world, including the Party of European Socialists
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists is a European political party led by Sergei Stanishev, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The PES comprises social-democratic national-level political parties primarily from Member state of the European Union, as well as other nations of the European continent. The...
and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats is the social-democratic political group in the European Parliament, formed by MEPs of the Party of European Socialists and allied centre-left parties. The group dates its ancestry via various names back to the beginning of the European...
, a European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
group.