United Russia’s Political Recruitment in the Russian Regions and ‘the Strengthening of the Power Vertical’: The Case of Novgorod Region

Abstract

This chapter presents a regional case study that analyses the role of the ‘party of power’, United Russia, in the policy of centralization pursued by Vladimir Putin since he became president in 2000. How does the party’s increasing influence on political recruitment at the regional and local levels contribute to the reinforcing of central authority over regional elites, especially the governors? I focus on the candidate selection process in the Novgorod region — which is situated in the northwestern federal district of Russia, between Moscow and St Petersburg — and more specifically on the developments of 2007–08, when a significant part of the former regional political elite was replaced. The study of United Russia’s political recruitment in the Russian regions will also shed light on the party’s role and autonomy in the contemporary Russian political system.