Putin creates a “popular front”, following the example of East Germany
Christian Science Monitor, USA
Manifesto of the All-Russian Popular Front
We, representatives of various groups of Russian society, when deciding to create the Popular Front as a public supra-party movement, call on Russian citizens to form a broad coalition of national development based on the principles of citizenship, creativity, freedom and justice. On a common desire to serve Russia. Based on the understanding that a great country needs great goals. On the awareness of shared responsibility for the historical success of Russia in the 21st century.
We must carry out a new industrialization, build a powerful competitive industry, create millions of new highly productive jobs, and improve the quality of life of people. We must involve the creative, business and labor potential of Russian citizens, all our vast spaces and resources, in development projects. This will allow us to develop regardless of external conditions and guarantee our economic sovereignty and national security.
We strive to return Russia to the ranks of leaders in the world and education, to regain the status of a world scientific and technological power. We are obliged to ensure the savings of the Russian people. To form a healthy nation. Eradicate poverty, ensure equal access to quality education and healthcare, maintain and strengthen an effective social state.
We must strengthen the unique Russian civilization. To defend the unity of our people as a multinational community. To demonstrate an example of state unity based on traditional common values, while carefully preserving the cultural identity of all the peoples of Russia. Preserve and develop our original - spiritual foundation of people's life.
We will build an effective state and a solidary society. Let us unite a national elite capable of working for their country and the common good, guaranteeing economic freedom and social justice. We intend to realize Russia's historical mission as an integration center of the Eurasian space. To implement our Eurasian project as the basis for the security and development of both Russia itself and the peoples historically, culturally, and economically connected with it.
We will achieve our goals if we value Russia. We will be a united society and a people whose unity is cemented by a common historical destiny and the common cause of developing the country, strengthening the state, improving life, and responsibility to future generations. We unite around common values that form the essence of our national character and the moral basis of our lives. This is the desire to live according to truth And justice, in accordance with its conscience. This is love for one’s homeland, service. We are convinced that patriotism is a value basis that creates the energy of joint action.
We consider it necessary to rely on the opinion of the majority of citizens and the support of the people when making fundamental decisions. We will make the Popular Front a real force that will translate the national development strategy into reality. The essence of our work is in the formula “civil initiative - cooperation - public control”. We define our Work Front:
- unite different political and social forces around key long-term priorities for the country’s development;
- strengthen national solidarity: unity of generations and patriotic youth; social partnership and civil mutual assistance;
- build effective cooperation between the government and society, honest dialogue and direct interaction between citizens and the President of the country;
- establish effective public monitoring and control over the implementation of the presidential program;
- become a platform where pressing problems are openly and frankly discussed, and the best solutions are developed and proposed;
- to involve public leaders - civil activists who are doing real work for the good of the country - into the socio-political life.
We call on everyone who is for Russia to join the Popular Front. Everyone who loves her, respects her history, is ready to work and create for the sake of today and the great future of our country. This is our land, our home, our Motherland. The movement is open to all citizens, social and political forces who are ready to actively unite around the strategy proposed by the President of Russia.
Shishkina Natalia Igorevna - expert at the Center for Scientific Political Thought and IdeologyThis week, the regular ONF forum dedicated to healthcare problems ended. Much has been said about the problems and causes of these problems in a strategically important area.
The All-Russian Popular Front has long become famous for regularly monitoring various vital areas for the country, which have long become a painful topic for most Russians. Assessments of the state of the spheres and criticism of local and not-so-local officials allowed people tired of bureaucracy to at least respect the relatively recently created organization. The ONF gained even greater popularity as an organization whose leader is Vladimir Putin himself. In addition, numerous events, including those involving young people, reports and monitoring results, which form the basis for the ONF’s appeals directly to government agencies in defense of citizens’ rights, also could not but affect the popularity and fame of the movement.
And it seemed that there was no reason to doubt that it was only due to this that the ONF became so famous. However, there is an interesting pattern of media mentions (Fig. 1).
Fig.1. Changes in the number of mentions in the media and audience interest in the ONF
As you can see, as the number of mentions in the media increases, the public’s interest in the ONF also grows. It would seem that there is nothing surprising, everything is natural. The dependence on the media is visible on the graph in the form of almost completely coinciding peaks of mentions and peaks of interest. The number of mentions is constantly growing, which fuels interest, which gradually even began to outstrip the mentions themselves in terms of growth.
But this graph shows how the artificial promotion of the ONF is proceeding. Otherwise, such a coincidence in the dynamics of mentions and impressions on the Internet would not exist, that is, the ONF would be relatively independent of the media. Of course, mentions in the media would also affect interest, but without such sharp spikes and drops.
A completely different picture is observed with United Russia, against the background of which the promotion is even more obvious.
Fig.2. Dynamics of mentions of United Russia in the media sphere, according to Yandex. Wordstat and Yandex. News.
If we compare two graphs - for the ONF and United Russia - then the promotion of the ONF becomes even more obvious: it is immediately clear that there is no such correspondence between the peaks of mentions and the peaks of interest, there is no slow increase in mentions in the media, interest in the party is growing regardless of the almost constant number of mentions. It is also obvious that EP is no longer being promoted in the media, although interest is growing.
The ONF attracts criticism and expertise. After all, what will happen if we completely hush up the problems raised by the ONF and feed the population exclusively stories that everything is fine, without diluting it with criticism? People will very quickly stop believing and become indignant; ordinary residents of the country see something completely different.
In addition, any sane person understands that development requires, firstly, independent control over the implementation of decisions, since there is only one President, and there are a legion of officials. And secondly, criticism and proposals for improving the existing situation, without which stagnation has every chance of becoming degradation.
What the ONF is doing is extremely necessary. Officials prefer to carry out the President’s orders so that their pockets don’t get smaller (or better yet, they increase in volume), and they don’t get hit, and if something happens, they blame the lazy Russian peasant, who supposedly doesn’t want to work and live according to dictates. conditions. The ONF has become a fairly good instrument of external control over such officials, but how independent is it?
At one time, the place of the ONF was occupied by United Russia, the “Party of the President,” etc. Now it has lost its regalia and, most importantly, its reputation, finally being associated among the majority of the population with swindlers and thieves. In addition, it is this party that is the party in power, which carries out all internal policies. If she criticizes herself, she will look unconvincing.
The meaning of the existence of other parties is also not very clear to people, especially non-parliamentary ones. Of course, there are supporters of certain parties, but the majority of Russians do not understand the political fuss at the trough or do not see anyone capable of becoming an alternative to the party in power.
And then the ONF appears, formed at the suggestion of a national leader whose ratings were off the charts. The national leader, already respected by the population, becomes the head of an organization that criticizes the bureaucracy and examines problems in various areas of the country. The officials are bad, the President and his front are good.
The card of the traditional Russian perception of the state structure is being played out quite clearly: the boyars are bad, but the tsar is good. The boyars steal, rob, commit outrages, but the king, having received the petition, will sort it out and sort it out instantly.
What allows you to think this way? Firstly, the ONF never criticizes Putin himself or United Russia. Otherwise it would go against the entire strategy of the front. Secondly, the ONF does not criticize either presidential orders or ongoing reforms as such. Only the implementation stage. Although the liberal reforms themselves that are being carried out in Russia undermine its viability and national security by their very idea and essence.
Take the same healthcare. Did the ONF oppose the impossible-to-follow standards for examination by a therapist introduced by the Ministry of Health? Or against the transfer of doctors to the so-called. “effective contract”, which actually completely turns the doctor, who is supposed to treat and heal, into an express service for the population on health problems? No. Or did the ONF criticize or add to the May decrees that laid the foundation for the reforms? No. Does he oppose the concept of medical services that have replaced the understanding of the work of a physician as medical care? Not again.
Although it is worth giving credit: the ONF gave some healthcare workers the opportunity to reach out to the authorities and convey some problems and proposals, which, of course, as was stated when the front was created, do not contradict the tactical and strategic goals of the United Russia party.
In general, the ONF criticizes certain aspects of the implementation of the ongoing liberal course. In reality, the ONF does not raise fundamental questions that lie in the ideological sphere. Ideology is not slogans, although this is precisely what they try to reduce the understanding of ideology to.
An ideology is a blueprint for a project that needs to be built. But the project of the ruling party cannot be disputed, it is inviolable and sacred, and, like many relics, does not belong to demonstration and translation into simple language for the general public.
According to Peskov, the ONF is financed by the organizations that are part of it. And this is United Russia, the Young Guard of United Russia, the federation of trade unions, more than once seen in bright pro-government rhetoric and imitation of activities to protect workers, AKKOR, which in the 1990s collaborated with the party founded by Gaidar... In a word, there is nothing surprising in the agreement with power - because otherwise the ONF will have nothing to exist on.
You can often see that the ONF is tipped to become a competitor to United Russia, and journalists from many publications argued, weighed and wrote about the likelihood of the ONF to get into the State Duma, to become the new support of the President in the fight for honesty, truth and justice.
The recent return of the majoritarian system of elections to the State Duma is coming to the aid of the ONF. Now it will be formed according to a mixed system. Not all people understand what this means.
The formation of a collegial body, which is the State Duma, can take place according to a proportional system. In this case, the parties draw up a list of their candidates for the State Duma. After voting in the elections, deputy seats are distributed between parties, and the parties send their members to the State Duma according to the compiled party list.
But there is another way - the majority system. Then those who received the majority of votes in their constituency become elected. This system is used, for example, for presidential elections.
In addition, it should be taken into account that the ONF has the opportunity to run on the party list of United Russia, which back in 2011 promised the ONF to transfer 25% of the seats on party lists that are reserved for non-party candidates.
It is worth taking a little break from the events of today and remembering the events of the past.
In 1993, a number of well-known political figures, such as E. Gaidar, A. Chubais, G. Kasparov, decided to create the socio-political bloc “Russia’s Choice” in support of the course of the President, then B. Yeltsin. Before the elections to the State Duma of the first convocation, on the basis of this movement, an electoral bloc of the same name was created, and later the party “Democratic Choice of Russia” was created.
Russia's Choice was the first attempt to create a party in power, but during the Chechen events a split occurred between the Russia's Choice movement and the Democratic Party of Russia, as some members refused to support the President's policies regarding Chechnya. This happened in early 1995.
In the spring of 1995, Boris Yeltsin put forward the initiative to create the public organization “Our Home is Russia,” which later formed the “Our Home is Russia” faction in the State Duma. At the beginning of the 2000s, deputies of this faction became part of the Unity faction, which was the predecessor of United Russia itself (Fig. 3).
Fig.3. Predecessors of United Russia and the ONF
After a brief excursion into the history of the party, everything falls into place. It can be seen that the technique of creating a social movement that creates the impression of, if not oppositional, then critical and independent, has already been used in Russia. The need to create such a movement arises when an existing political force is unable to mobilize the population and has discredited itself. This happened with “Russia’s Choice” and later with the NDR.
Now a replacement for United Russia is being formed in the person of the ONF. The hyperbolization of the negative perception of Russian officials, simultaneously with the idealization of the national leader, is aimed at changing the political... sign. Instead of the eye-sore United Russia, something else will come, based on the ONF. Will the elite, the power itself, change? Replacement can only affect individuals, but not the elite as a whole. There is also no need to talk about an ideological turn in the event of the formation of the All-Russian Popular Front into a political party or electoral bloc: the selection criterion initially established for members of the ONF does not imply opposition to the existing government and the policies of United Russia.
The ONF now performs a useful function, but at the same time it is a tool to mislead the population, a PR tool and to ensure support for the authorities. In fact, the ONF is the very liberal soap that will be replaced by the no less liberal shit called “United Russia”.
It is impossible to radically change the situation and revive Russia with the help of liberal tools. This is a civilizationally non-identical ideology that undermines vitality. Therefore, despite the enormous and useful work in monitoring the situation in the regions, the ONF is not able to bring Russia out of its dying state without changing its ideological guidelines. And it is impossible to change them without coming into conflict with the United Russia.
MORE ON THE TOPICThe all-Russian public movement "People's Front "For Russia" (abbreviated name - All-Russian People's Front, ONF) is a mass public association created on the initiative of citizens united in the interests of realizing the goals of the movement.
The ONF defines the essence of its work with the formula “civil initiative - cooperation - public control.”
The goals of the movement are: to unite different political and social forces around key long-term priorities for the country’s development; strengthen national solidarity: unity of generations and patriotic education of youth; social partnership and civil mutual assistance; build effective cooperation between the government and society, honest dialogue and direct interaction between citizens and the president of the country; establish effective public monitoring and control over the implementation of the presidential program; become a platform where pressing problems are openly and frankly discussed, and the best solutions are developed and proposed; to involve public leaders - civil activists who are doing real work for the good of the country - into the socio-political life.
According to the charter of the ONF, participants in the movement can be citizens of the Russian Federation who have reached 18 years of age, meet the requirements for participants in public associations by the current legislation of the Russian Federation, recognize the Charter of the movement and have expressed support for the goals of the movement. Participation in and withdrawal from the ONF is voluntary.
The All-Russian Popular Front was created on the initiative of Vladimir Putin. The proposal to create it was made on May 6, 2011 at the interregional conference of the United Russia party in Volgograd.
After the presidential elections on March 4, 2012, Vladimir Putin, already as head of state, held his first meeting with activists of the All-Russian Popular Front in Novo-Ogarevo. At a meeting with ONF activists, the president outlined the main tasks of the movement - control over the execution of decrees and instructions of the head of state, as well as the fight against corruption.
On June 11-12, 2013, the founding congress of the ONF took place in Moscow at Manege. The delegates adopted the main founding documents, including the Charter of the ONF, which establishes the supra-party nature of the movement. The official name of the social movement was also fixed - “People's Front “For Russia”. During the meeting at the congress, Russian President Vladimir Putin was elected leader of the ONF.
In December 2013, at the “Action Forum”, it was decided to create five working groups of the ONF: “Society and power: direct dialogue”, “Education and culture as the basis of national identity”, “Quality of everyday life”, “Honest and efficient economy” and Social Justice. As part of the Forum, a meeting of its participants with Vladimir Putin took place, who was provided with information regarding the implementation of the “May Decrees” and specific ways to solve various problems were proposed. One of the important decisions following the results of the first “Action Forum” was the creation of a mechanism for taking into account the opinion of the ONF when removing the instructions of the head of state from control.
In 2014, regional headquarters and executive committees of the Popular Front were formed in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation, including Crimea and Sevastopol.
On April 10, 2014, the second meeting of Russian President and ONF leader Vladimir Putin with movement activists took place.
Also in April 2014, the All-Russian Popular Front held the first media forum of independent regional and local media “Truth and Justice” in St. Petersburg, where independent journalists from all regions of Russia were invited. At the same time, it was decided to create the Foundation for Support of Independent Regional and Local Media “Truth and Justice” and the Center for Legal Support of Journalists.
From August 10 to 20, 2014, the ONF held the International Youth Forum "Tavrida" in Crimea. On the eve of the opening of the forum, the expedition of the Popular Front "Russia 2014" from Vladivostok to Sevastopol was completed, the purpose of which was to monitor the "May decrees" and the president's instructions directly on the ground.
On October 14, 2014, a two-day ONF forum “Quality education for the sake of the country” started in Penza, in which more than 500 people took part.
In November 2014, the second “Action Forum” of the Popular Front summed up the work of the ONF for the year.
In March 2015, the ONF Center for Public Monitoring on Ecology and Forest Protection was created. The new project includes experts, scientists, public figures and environmental specialists who are fighting mismanagement and corruption in the forestry sector, illegal logging and other environmental problems.
On April 25-28, 2015, the second ONF media forum “Truth and Justice” was held in St. Petersburg.
On June 8, in Moscow, through the efforts of the ONF, the All-Russian Industrial Conference “The Country Lives When Factories Work” was held with the participation of “Business Russia”, “OPORA Russia”, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia. The proposals developed at the conference were presented at a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council on the issue of import substitution in industry.
A continuation of the work to support regional media was the holding of an ONF session for young journalists from regional and local media from August 27 to September 2 at the All-Russian Youth Educational Forum "Tavrida" in Crimea on the Bakal Spit.
On September 6-7, 2015, in Moscow at the Expocenter, on behalf of Vladimir Putin, the ONF forum “For high-quality and affordable medicine!” was held. One of the results of the forum was the decision of the central headquarters of the ONF on September 22 to create a Center for Public Monitoring of the Quality and Accessibility of Healthcare, which dynamically monitors the situation in the healthcare sector, monitors the situation on the ground, and also monitors the implementation of the president’s instructions based on the results of the forum.
In October, the central headquarters of the ONF created the ONF Industrial Committee, designed to ensure direct dialogue between representatives of the industrial sector of the Russian economy and the President of Russia.
The All-Russian Popular Front held an interregional forum in Stavropol. Following the plenary session of the forum, ONF leader Vladimir Putin gave a number of instructions related to increasing the efficiency of the implementation of state programs for the support and development of the agro-industrial complex.
On February 25, an ONF conference on environmental issues and forest protection took place in Irkutsk. At the plenary meeting following the conference, public proposals were formed to solve problems in the field of forest protection in the country and the ecology of the Baikal region.
On March 11, on the eve of the second anniversary of the reunification of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol with Russia, the ONF held the first on-site meeting of the central headquarters in Sevastopol, during which the results of the work of the ONF over two years and the process of integration of the peninsula into the single space of Russia were discussed. As a result of the event, it was decided to support the proposal of activists from Crimea and Sevastopol to hold an interregional forum in Crimea.
On April 24-25, the “Action Forum. Regions” was held in Yoshkar-Ola (Republic of Mari El), in which Vladimir Putin took part in the plenary session. The forum was attended by representatives of 21 regions of the Volga region, the Urals and the North-West of Russia, as well as federal and regional experts from the ONF, representatives of the executive branch, and journalists. The main topics of the forum were devoted to discussing the development of industry, conservation of water resources, the quality of housing and communal services, as well as building effective and transparent work of local government.
Among the ONF's projects: "For Honest Procurement" - an open network to combat corruption, waste and ineffective use of budget funds in the field of government procurement and procurement of state-owned companies, "Dead Roads" - the ONF road inspection, "People's Expertise" - a center for independent monitoring of the implementation of presidential decrees RF.
The leader of the ONF is Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The co-chairs of the central headquarters of the Popular Front are State Duma deputy, film director Stanislav Govorukhin, secretary of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, first vice-president of OPORA Russia Alexander Brechalov, and State Duma deputy Olga Timofeeva.
The head of the ONF executive committee is Alexey Anisimov.
The chairman of the central audit commission of the ONF is State Duma deputy Anatoly Karpov.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
The All-Russian Popular Front was created as a pro-presidential movement even before the 2011 State Duma elections. Over the course of four years, the ONF managed to change several roles and was almost forgotten, but the new political reality turned out to be an ideal environment for its revival.
The All-Russian Popular Front is trying to do everything so that it is not forgotten. Vladimir Putin speaks about it in his message; his activists, as it is especially emphasized, “on instructions from the president” meet with Dmitry Medvedev and discuss with him the topic of government procurement. A separate offensive is being carried out by “front-line soldiers” in the capital - State Duma deputy Vyacheslav Lysakov, at the request of the public, will demand from the mayor’s office a moratorium on expanding the paid parking zone. Until recently, the ONF worked as a machine for issuing black marks to governors - after criticism of the movement, regional heads could resign. Now the Front appears here and there and is preparing to form a broad coalition in the State Duma of the new convocation.
Victory without a fight
It seems that the presidential administration has decided what they want to see the Popular Front, which lived for four years in a state of constantly changing suspension. Its future is depicted as follows: parties friendly to the movement, which do not have enough strong candidates in single-member districts in the State Duma elections, can nominate “front-line soldiers.”
These past deputies will then create a “broad inter-party pro-presidential coalition” in parliament. Then the ONF will hold a congress from its own base in parliament. This congress should be the start of the 2018 presidential campaign, in which Vladimir Putin will enter as the head of a “party coalition supported by voters.”
In the lines outlined in the Kremlin, one can easily guess the prototype - the national fronts of the countries of the socialist camp, which also united several parties with names to suit every taste, plus social activists.
The ONF exists in an uncertain state - no records of membership, no crusts or party cards. For two years the Front lived without official registration at all. The leadership structure is blurred - there is a central headquarters with co-chairs, there is an executive committee with a head and his deputies. The personalities on these posts have changed several times, but who can remember them the first time without a hint from the Internet? The main figure in the Front (Vladimir Putin does not directly lead the movement) was also not identified.
The ONF can only be described apophatically, indicating what the Front is definitely not and what it definitely doesn’t do: it doesn’t get involved in politics (allegedly), it’s not part of the vertical executive branch, it doesn’t have a real ideology, it’s not youth, it’s not trade unions, it has no official members. ONF is one big NOT: it seems to be everything, and at the same time nothing.
In the regions, this vagueness and vagueness of the Front was often used in showdowns between local influential groups: a “member of the ONF” began to criticize the governor or mayor. Anyone could be a “member” - for example, a leader of a party close to the movement (“Motherland”, “Patriots” or “Pensioners”). But the information was presented like this: “The Popular Front accused official X,” and the Front is almost Putin.
For the last couple of years, the Front's main function has been to issue black marks to governors. The former head of the Sakhalin region, Alexander Khoroshavin (arrested on suspicion of corruption), was criticized for spending on PR and renovation of the administration building. Former head of the Chelyabinsk region Mikhail Yurevich (after his resignation he became a State Duma deputy) - for purchasing a helicopter and hiring security. Criticism, as a rule, was impersonal: “the front-line soldiers discovered,” “the ONF demands,” “the head of the region took into account the opinion of the Front.” The signals department for especially dull regional officials is no less, but no more. Nobody even learned the full name of the Front - in the speeches of officials and deputies it was called either “united”, then “national”, or “public” (remember, which is correct?).
The Front was saved by a lucky coincidence of circumstances. After the annexation of Crimea, the war in Donbass, and the confrontation with the West, all four Duma parties actually merged into one big one - that very “broad coalition”. Non-parliamentary structures, except for Yabloko and PARNAS, generally also support the president. If everyone is talking about the same thing, then why not organize parties and social activists within one bloc?
Also in the GDR, everyone could choose from the united ranks of the National Front the party that he liked best - here you have the liberal democrats, and the social democrats, and even the peasant democrats. There is a choice - only everyone in parliament will vote the same way, in front. The Russian political system has de facto approached this situation: the differences between parties are becoming more and more decorative.
The “coalition” will have to be managed. And here is a ready-made solution: a front-superstructure that coordinates parties. Lots of “NOT”s are leaving. The Front has its own identity – elected deputies, and not abstract “everyone”. At least nominal coordinators will be clearly identified - decisions, of course, will be made in the Kremlin, but the established structure cannot exist without leadership.
This configuration makes it possible to hold presidential elections according to a convenient scenario: Vladimir Putin, nominated by the “people,” his communist opponent (not necessarily Gennady Zyuganov) and, for example, Grigory Yavlinsky, who has already announced his desire to participate in the campaign. The breadth of the front ranks versus the narrowness of the party corners. If anything, competitors can recall the Soviet deficit, Stalinist repressions and the dashing 90s.
So far everything looks well thought out, but the euphoria from the annexation of Crimea is subsiding, problems in the economy are already manifesting themselves openly, and protests are beginning. The idea of the Front “for everything good”: they got up from their knees, salaries are rising, they proved it to Ukraine and Obama – already looks dubious, and if no one is going to give up the idea of the ONF, then the “people’s” must go against the enemy. Preferably internal, and they are already looking for him in the Kremlin.
https://www.site/2018-06-14/putinskiy_narodnyy_front_aktiviziruetsya_i_ichet_sebe_novuyu_rol
ONF is again in search of itself
Putin's Popular Front is intensifying and looking for a new role
ONF
During a recent direct line, Vladimir Putin twice mentioned the Popular Front, making it clear: this movement, which has begun to be forgotten, has not been written off. He will switch to a project approach and join in the formation of national programs within the framework of the new “May decree” of the president Vladimir Putin, several interlocutors close to the organization’s leadership told the site.
ONF reform
“The new format of the ONF’s work will be “zero reading” of government decisions and reports. The five previously operating expert groups will be reorganized into 12 thematic platforms, both federal and regional,” said one of the publication’s interlocutors, adding that, as before, movement activists will monitor the implementation of the presidential decree at the federal level and in the regions. for example, monitoring the quality of medical services. At the ONF congress, which is expected to be held in November, the first assessment of the national programs currently being developed in the government to implement the “May Decree” will be made, and activists’ proposals for their implementation will be given, the source adds.
Thematic platforms will be devoted to the following topics: demography, healthcare, education, housing and the urban environment, ecology, safe and high-quality roads, labor productivity and employment support, science, digital economy, culture, small and medium-sized businesses and support for individual entrepreneurial initiatives, international cooperation and export.
Putin movement
The ONF was formally established in 2013, although the idea of its creation was voiced by Vladimir Putin (then Prime Minister) back in May 2011. Putin then proposed “to create what in political practice is called a broad popular front... to ensure the formation of a broad public coalition.” It is believed that one of the main authors of the idea of creating the ONF was Vyacheslav Volodin, who in December 2013 replaced Vladislav Surkov as first deputy head of the presidential administration and held this position until the fall of 2016, when he became speaker of the State Duma, and was replaced in the presidential administration by Sergey Kiriyenko.
Over the past five years, the All-Russian Popular Front has experienced several changes in concept and agenda. At first, Vladimir Putin called the main tasks of the ONF the fight against corruption and monitoring the implementation of his “May decrees,” where election promises were recorded.
The authority of the ONF is based on the figure of its ideological leader - Vladimir Putin. Without a president, this movement is unlikely to make senseONF
In 2013, five working groups were created under the ONF: “Society and power: direct dialogue”, “Education and culture as the basis of national identity”, “Quality of everyday life”, “Honest and efficient economy”, “Social justice”. The co-chairs of the ONF Central Headquarters were journalist, State Duma deputy Olga Timofeeva, director Stanislav Govorukhin and businessman Alexander Brechalov (then head of the Public Chamber, in 2017 he headed Udmurtia).
“If we go back to the history of its creation, then in 2011 the Popular Front was created on the basis of Vladimir Putin’s public reception rooms. The ONF included representatives of various public organizations. This was led personally by Vyacheslav Volodin. The structure of the ONF was conceived as supra-party, and Volodin called it an “umbrella structure,” says the head of the ONF executive committee, Alexey Anisimov.
In the first years of its work, the All-Russian Popular Front focused on criticizing the work of governors, starting to monitor government procurement, as well as publicly demanding that regional authorities reduce their own PR costs. There was also talk about reducing the number of information contracts concluded by regions with the media, instead creating a system of regional and federal grants. It was even planned to submit a corresponding bill to the State Duma, but it did not come to pass. On the political sidelines they said that in this way Vyacheslav Volodin solved two problems: firstly, intercepting the anti-corruption agenda from the opposition; secondly, keeping governors “in good shape.”
Over time, however, attacks on governors by the Front had to be reduced: governors complained that the ONF was not allowing them to work.
Another well-known ONF project is related to regional media. “Front-line soldiers” established an annual award for regional media - “Truth and Justice”, which began to be awarded at the annual media forum, usually held in the spring in St. Petersburg (only in 2018 the media forum was held in Kaliningrad).
With the arrival of Sergei Kiriyenko in the presidential administration in 2016, the ONF gradually refocused on social projects and work with volunteers. Thus, at the beginning of 2017, the projects “General Cleaning”, “Interactive Map of Landfills”, “Road Inspectorate of the ONF / Maps of Damaged Roads”, “Center for Monitoring the Improvement of the Urban Environment”, “People’s Quality Assessment”, “Equal Opportunities for Children” arose. "Professional internships"; The ONF youth organization was created.
How the function of the ONF has changed
The head of the International Institute of Political Expertise, Evgeniy Minchenko, notes that the number of conflicts between “front-line soldiers” and governors has decreased. Director of the St. Petersburg Politics Foundation Mikhail Vinogradov agrees with him: “Over the past year, the perception of the ONF in the establishment has softened - there has been less pointed trolling of government officials, a step has been taken towards formulating more meaningful positions.”
Political scientist Abbas Gallyamov opposes this point of view. According to him, at first the Kremlin tried to use the ONF for demonstrative flogging of local officials.
“After Bolotnaya, trust in the system on the part of ordinary voters was minimal, so the authorities needed a tool with which they could draw a divide: to separate Putin from the rest of the bureaucratic vertical. ONF was used as a mirror. It was presented to the voter, and he, observing the activities of the front-line soldiers, had to understand that all his (the voter’s) discontent was directed against the local authorities, but not against the head of state. To some extent it worked... After Crimea the situation changed. The loyalty of the population went up, and there was no need to pit one part of the vertical against another. The ONF was not in demand. There was simply no place for him on the agenda,” says Gallyamov.
One of the problems of the ONF is that people do not unite well within the framework of the organization “for all that is good.” People can only be driven into such structures “from above” ONF
The expert says that now, in a situation of growing protest sentiments, in principle, it would be possible to return to the original model and use the ONF to create a direct connection between the head of state and the “people”, bypassing the bureaucracy.
“There is a demand for such contact, not mediated by bureaucracy. The problem, however, is that, unlike 2012-2013, the ONF brand has already faded thoroughly. It has become worn out as a result of long-term use, and now it is much easier to create something new than to force the audience to react to the name ONF again. In general, the main problem of the ONF is our authoritarian political tradition. The voter knows Russian history too well and understands that in Russia a grassroots social movement covering the entire country cannot arise on its own, without the intervention of the authorities. This can happen in one individual entrance, in extreme cases - in the region, but never on a wider scale. Moreover, a real movement will never have divergent interests, as the ONF tried to portray. Our people unite only to solve specific problems - closing a landfill, achieving payment of wage arrears, opposing the construction of a plant, etc. They do not unite in a coalition “against everything bad, for everything good.” Only the authorities drive them into such structures,” says Gallyamov.
At the very beginning of the history of the ONF, some of its activists considered themselves almost new guardsmen. But in fact, the ONF has become a tool for keeping regional elites in good shape, recalls the head of the Political Expert Group, Konstantin Kalachev.
“The main task was to find and analyze failed areas in the work of the regional authorities,” he says. — The ONF proved its effectiveness at that time. Now the time has come for the consolidation of regional elites and the demonstration of regional and federal elites. The request for public reprimand and debriefing has gone. Therefore, the Popular Front was integrated into the presidential campaign as the operator of three federal projects to repair roads, improve courtyards, and identify illegal dumps. That is, we moved from a point-by-point style of work to a project-based one. Kiriyenko found a new use for the ONF in new historical conditions. And, as is already clear, there will be no oprichnina. There will be a search for options for using the ONF for development purposes,” adds Kalachev.
Previously, there were assumptions that the ONF was a prototype of a reserve party in power in case of failure of United Russia, recalls political scientist Alexei Makarkin: “After the 2016 elections and United Russia receiving a constitutional majority, this lost its relevance. In addition, the ONF used to often actively criticize specific individuals in the regional government. Nowadays, more often it is not about individuals, but about the problems that the organization solves or seeks to solve.”
ONF
The head of the Expert Council of the EISI, Gleb Kuznetsov, notes that the ONF has a huge structure, a large number of projects and “political representatives” - deputies, members of public chambers, as well as actually three areas of activity: institutional building, “representation before the president” and “human protection” .
“As a result, a complete picture does not emerge. Which model is best suited - “Robinhood”, “deputy” or “oprichnik of the sovereigns” - time will tell. I repeat, there is success in each area, and it is logical that they don’t want to give up any of them,” adds Kuznetsov.
