There's only room for one Leader at the top of the list

[image source]

Lenta.ru reports on how Putin has replaced the top three spots on United Russia's party list (a couple of original translations below the cut). If this is how the new "party-based democracy" is going to look, I wonder how it differs from the "rule of one man" model which Putin has perfected during his time in office?

Vladimir Putin has replaced United Russia's top troika
Lenta.ru, Oct. 2, 2007

In United Russia's draft list of candidates, the first three positions [Trans. note - these are the three positions which get into the Duma on the basis of the nationwide vote for a party] is not present as such. In place of it, the draft on which the delegates of the party congress will vote has only one name - Vladimir Putin. [...]

On October 1, the first day of the party congress, President Vladimir Putin agreed to head up United Russia's candidate list for the December 2 Duma elections. After that, the party corrected its candidate lists in accordance with the wishes of the president, in part to exclude big businessmen.

And a more recent article:

United Russia congress confirms federal party list
Lenta.ru, Oct. 2, 2007

The delegates of United Russia's pre-election congress have confirmed the federal list of the party for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The results of the secret ballot were 476 delegates in favor; three against; and two abstentions. The list, which is broken into 83 regional groups, includes 600 candidates.

Number 1 on the list is Vladimir Putin, and his candidacy makes up the entirety of the nationwide part of the list [общефедеральная часть списка]. The Moscow group, as was expected, is headed up by the capital's mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, vice-premier Аleksandr Zhukov and film director Stanislav Govorukhin. The top three of the St. Petersburg list includes United Russia leader Bоris Gryzlov and Petersburg governor Vаlentina Matvienko, who had been expected to receive spots in the nationwide top three. Another candidate for the nationwide list, Sеrgei Shoigu, will head up the Stavropol' group. Ice skater Svetlana Zhurova, who was also being considered for the third spot in the nationwide troika, is second on the list for Leningrad Region.

In addition, according to Putin's statement about the undesirability of oligarchs being on the party list, billionaire Suleiman Kerimov was excluded from the list; however, Magnitogorsk factory owner Viktor Rashnikov, Sed'moi Kontinent founder Vladimir Gruzdev, Novatek owner Leonid Simanovskii and Krasnyi Vostok owner Airat Khairullin all remained on the list.

The American government has stated that Putin's plan to run for the Duma and presumably then assume the role of Prime Minister is Russia's internal affair.