Vladimir Putin Creates the All-Russia People's Front

May 12, 2011
Jennifer Ciotta

Vladimir Putin President in 2012 - Presidential Press and Information Office

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has created the All-Russia People's Front. Will this political strategy help him win the 2012 presidential election?

In recent history only one man has controlled Russia. He is Vladimir Putin. Putin first came into power on New Year's Eye 1999 when then-president Boris Yeltsin appointed Putin to acting president. The following year, in 2000, Putin was elected president of Russia by the people. He successfully won another term. In 2008, newly elected president Dmitry Medvedev nominated Putin to the role of prime minister, which he accepted, and now currently serves.

All together, the world has been talking about "Putin's Russia" since the year 2000, causing many to refer to his political leadership as authoritarian. No matter what people think of Putin - good or bad - he's certainly not going anywhere anytime soon, especially since he still controls the Duma (the Russian parliament) over President Medvedev.

Putin for President in 2012

Due to the decline of the Russian economy and corruption within the government, Putin's approval ratings have taken a hit as of late. Therefore, Putin needed yet another way to reinvent himself politically, especially if he's looking to stay in power until 2024. This is very possible, since Putin had Medvedev change the Constitution to extend the presidential term from four years to six. In the spirit of political strategy, Putin founded the All-Russia People's Front.

Usually, Putin heads the United Russia party. According to The Moscow Times, he developed the People's Front in order to provide United Russia with "new ideas, new suggestions and new faces." However, Russian political analysts see it as Putin's strategy for winning next year's election. He hopes to earn 60-65 percent of the vote with the People's Front.

Will Putin's Political Strategy Win Him the Presidency?

Putin's creation of the People's Front is setting him up for a presidential run. Even though Putin has not officially announced his candidacy, the People's Front shows the world that he will be in the running come next year. For some in Russia, the new Front will be a new beginning for Putin, who desperately wants to set himself apart from unpopular party members in United Russia. For other Russians, it is simply a ploy and it won't work. They will not go along with what they see as more of Putin's antics.

Many Russians are wary of elections anyway. The Moscow Times reports, "Mathematician Sergei Shpilkin estimates that 14 million votes were stuffed in ballot boxes or fabricated by other means during the 2007 State Duma elections, and even more will be needed to clinch victory this time [for the 2012 presidential election]."

It seems that Putin's fate will be left up to himself. If he can convince the Russian people to support the People's Front, he is likely to win the election. But if the people are looking for a new leader after 12 years of Putin, they will have to be vocal and active against Putin's regime. And perhaps, neither of the above scenarios matter because mathematician Shpilkin may be right, the Russian ballot boxes are just waiting to be stuffed.