The Prokhorov affair brought the Kremlin’s manipulation fully into the open, ridiculing
its system of “managed democracy.” However, it was not to put an end to the Kremlin’s
machinations. In May 2011, at the same time that Prokhorov was selected to become
a party leader, Vladislav Surkov and his associates were already preparing another
plan: the formation of an “All-Russia People’s Front” (Obshcherossiyskiy Narodnyy Front), in which United Russia would participate together with other parties and organizations.
Putin officially presented the plan on May 6, 2011, at a conference of United Russia
in Volgograd. One of the parties invited to participate in this Front was the successor
organization of Rodina, an ultranationalist and xenophobic party. Its former leader, Dmitry Rogozin, who
had become Russian permanent representative to NATO, was called back to Russia to
organize its relaunch under the name Rodina-Congress of Russian Communities.[35] For small parties it was attractive to participate in the Front because, not hindered
by the extremely high 7 percent threshold, they would get a guaranteed number of seats
in the Duma. For United Russia this formula was interesting because, while keeping
its absolute majority, it could plan in advance the “diversity” in the new parliament.
Also representatives of Kremlin-friendly trade unions, agricultural associations,
veterans’ organizations, and even car-owners organizations were mentioned as possible
candidates for joining the Front.[36] On the website of “United Russia” the Front was welcomed as a “modernization” of
the party, which would create a new, broad coalition around the party—some kind of
“silent majority” representing different ideological positions: “left-wing people,
right-wing liberals, [and] moderate nationalists.”[37] Up to 25 percent of the positions on the Front list would be reserved for these
outsiders. It is certainly no coincidence that this new “All-Russia People’s Front”
was a faithful copy of the “National Front” of the former German Democratic Republic.
In the GDR it was the only list in the elections for the Volkskammer, the East German parliament.
