Stavropol, Russian Federation
UDC 32
CSCSTI 11.15
Russian Classification of Professions by Education 41.04.04
Russian Library and Bibliographic Classification 663
Russian Trade and Bibliographic Classification 7372
BISAC POL008000 Political Process / Campaigns & Elections
The aim of the study is to determine whether the modern Russian party system, characterized by a dominant party, reproduces the institutional features of the Soviet one-party model and whether this can be regarded as a form of one-party restoration. The working hypothesis suggests that the stable electoral leadership of the "United Russia" party, in the absence of an institutionalized monopoly on power, does not lead to the reproduction of total party control in the manner of the CPSU. Despite superficial similarities to the Soviet one-party model, the current system lacks the legal and organizational foundations necessary for the restoration of full party dominance. The methodological basis of the study is a comparative analysis of the party systems of the USSR and contemporary Russia according to selected parameters. The empirical base includes legal and regulatory acts, party programmatic documents, and academic literature. The analysis shows that the CPSU acted as a supra-state actor with a constitutionally enshrined monopoly on power, with the ability to directly control personnel, resources, and ideological mechanisms of governance. In contrast, "United Russia" operates in an institutional environment constrained by the principle of separation of powers, the legal autonomy of the civil service, and the absence of an official ideology. Contemporary party dominance relies on a combination of electoral legitimacy and flexible ideological adaptation, without a full-scale institutional merger with the state apparatus. The theoretical significance of the study lies in overcoming a widespread misconception rooted in political and academic discourse concerning the structural and functional similarity between "United Russia" and the CPSU. The differences revealed through the analysis make it possible to reject inaccurate analogies and establish a theoretical foundation for further clarification of the actual place of "United Russia" within the power system of modern Russia. The practical significance of the study is that its findings can be used for expert assessment of the state of the party system, forecasting risks of institutional stagnation, and developing recommendations in the field of party legislation and electoral policy.
political parties, party systems, CPSU, "United Russia," political dominance, dominant party, multiparty system.
1. Abradova E.S. Partii i vybory v sovremennoj Rossii [Parties and elections in contemporary Russia]. Vlast’ [Power]. 2021, V. 29, I. 2, pp. 102–106. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31171/vlast.v29i2.8005. (In Russian). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/UDDTST
2. Volgin E.I. Demontazh odnopartijnoj sistemy v SSSR: politicheskie i pravovye aspekty [The dismantling of the one-party system in the USSR: political and legal aspects]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 8. Istoriya [Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 8: History]. 2016, I. 5, pp. 90–106. (In Russian). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/XICDUN
3. Glebova I.I. Russkaya vlast’ i ee partii [Russian power and its parties]. Politicheskaya konceptologiya: zhurnal metadistsiplinarnykh issledovanij [Political Conceptology: Journal of Metadisciplinary Studies]. 2011, I. 3, pp. 112–130. (In Russian). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/OGJLOZ
4. Zaslavsky S.E. Partijnaya sistema Rossii: tochki politicheskoj konkurencii [The party system of Russia: points of political competition]. Voprosy politologii [Political Science Issues]. 2021, V. 11, I. 7(71), pp. 2016–2028. DOI: https://doi.org/10.35775/PSI.2021.71.7.006. (In Russian). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/QOFLSX
5. Ivanov A.M. Obshchestvenno-politicheskaya zhizn’ i deyatel’nost’ partijnykh i sovetskikh organov gosudarstvennoj vlasti, oblastnoj partijnoj organizacii KPSS, politicheskikh partij i dvizhenij v period Perestrojki (1985–1991 gg.) po materialam gosudarstvennykh arkhivov Smolenskoj oblasti [Socio-political life and activity of party and Soviet state authorities during Perestroika (1985–1991) based on the materials of Smolensk state archives]. Modern Science. 2021, I. 3-2, pp. 160–163. (In Russian).
6. Kuz’min P.V., Khalanskaya L.G. Krizis razvitiya KPSS (1980 – nachalo 1990-kh gg.): soderzhanie i sotsial’no-politicheskie posledstviya (k 30-letiyu razrusheniya Sovetskogo Soyuza) [The crisis of CPSU development (1980s – early 1990s): content and socio-political consequences (on the 30th anniversary of the collapse of the USSR)]. Uchenye zapiski Krymskogo federal’nogo universiteta imeni V.I. Vernadskogo. Filosofiya. Politologiya. Kulturologiya [Scientific Notes of the Crimean Federal University named after V.I. Vernadsky. Philosophy. Political Science. Cultural Studies]. 2021, V. 7(73), I. 2, pp. 80–93. (In Russian). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/BWZRZC
7. Napalkov A.D., Smetanin A.F. Mesto i rol’ KPSS v sovetskoj politicheskoj sisteme (1918–1991 gg.) (na materialakh Komi oblastnoj kommunisticheskoj organizacii) [The place and role of the CPSU in the Soviet political system (1918–1991) (based on the materials of the Komi regional Communist organization)]. Syktyvkar, Komi respublikanskaya tipografiya Publ., 2011, 56 p. (In Russian).
8. Nikolaev N.E. Istoricheskie predposylki formirovaniya partii “Edinaya Rossiya” v kontekste postsovetskoj Rossii [Historical prerequisites for the formation of the "United Russia" party in the context of post-Soviet Russia]. Klion [Clio]. 2024, I. 7(211), pp. 162–166. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24412/2070-9773-2024-7-162-166. (In Russian). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/GLFHGJ
9. Nisnevich Yu.A. Rossiyskaya “partiya vlasti” vs dominantnaya partiya [Russian "party of power" vs dominant party]. Politiya: Analiz. Khronika. Prognoz [Politeia: Analysis. Chronicle. Forecast]. 2021, I. 4(103), pp. 183–199. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30570/2078-5089-2021-103-4-183-199. (In Russian). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/GKXLQB
10. Politbyuro TsK VKP(b) i Sovet Ministrov SSSR. 1945–1953 [Politburo of the CPSU (b) Central Committee and the Council of Ministers of the USSR. 1945–1953]. Comp. O.V. Khlevnyuk, J. Gorlitsky, L.P. Kosheleva et al. Moscow, Rossiyskaya politicheskaya entsiklopediya (ROSSPEN) Publ., 2002, 656 p. (In Russian).
11. Popova Yu.V. “Edinaya Rossiya” kak opornyj institut personalistskogo rezhima [“United Russia” as a core institution of a personalist regime]. Vestnik Omskogo universiteta. Seriya: Istoricheskie nauki [Bulletin of Omsk University. Series: Historical Sciences]. 2020, V. 7, I. 3(27), pp. 87–95. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24147/2312-1300.2020.7(3).87-95. (In Russian). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/XGCPEO
12. Seltser D.G. Partijnyj iskhod kak antiteza kadrovoj politike KPSS [Party exodus as the antithesis of CPSU cadre policy]. Sotsial’no-politicheskie issledovaniya [Socio-Political Research]. 2021, I. 4(13), pp. 50–60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20323/2658-428X-2021-4-13-50-60. (In Russian). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/ZMXQVU
13. SSSR. Nezavershennyj proekt [The USSR. An unfinished project]. Ed. A.V. Buzgalin, P. Linke. Moscow, LENAND Publ., 2013, 528 p. (In Russian).
14. Sushkov A.V. Prezidium TsK KPSS v 1957–1964 gg.: lichnosti i vlast’ [Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee in 1957–1964: personalities and power]. Ed. A.V. Speranskiy. Ekaterinburg, Ural Branch of RAS Publ., 2009, 386 p. (In Russian). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/QVMIST
15. Timoshenko V.I. Kharakter i svoeobrazie partijnoj sistemy sovremennoj Rossii [The nature and originality of the party system of modern Russia]. PolitBook. 2022, I. 4, pp. 98–107. (In Russian). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/YMNMTU
16. Uporov I.V. Dualizm KPSS i organov vlasti v sisteme upravleniya SSSR v 1980-e gody: istoriko-pravovoj aspekt [The dualism of the CPSU and government bodies in the USSR governance system in the 1980s: historical and legal aspect]. Mezhdunarodnyj zhurnal gumanitarnykh i estestvennykh nauk [International Journal of Humanities and Natural Sciences]. 2024, I. 9-2(96), pp. 29–33. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24412/2500-1000-2024-9-2-29-33. (In Russian). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/CAWRMM
17. TsK VKP(b) i regional’nye partijnye komitety. 1945–1953 [The CPSU (b) Central Committee and regional party committees. 1945–1953]. Comp. V.V. Denisov, A.V. Kvashonkin, L.I. Malashenko et al. Moscow, Rossiyskaya politicheskaya entsiklopediya (ROSSPEN) Publ., 2004, 496 p. (In Russian).
18. Zhao Yu. KPSS i KPK: sravnitel’nye aspekty istoriko-kul’turologicheskogo podkhoda [CPSU and CPC: comparative aspects of the historical and cultural approach]. Vestnik Baltiyskogo federal’nogo universiteta im. I. Kanta. Seriya: Gumanitarnye i obshchestvennye nauki [Journal of the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University. Series: Humanities and Social Sciences]. 2022, I. 1, pp. 84–92. (In Russian). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/RHXVSV
19. Shapiro L. Kommunisticheskaya partiya Sovetskogo Soyuza [The Communist Party of the Soviet Union]. Trans. from English by V. Frank. 2nd ed., expanded. Firenze, Aurora Publ., 1975, 933 p. (In Russian).
20. Schwartzenberg R.-Zh. Politicheskaya sotsiologiya [Political Sociology]. Trans. from French. Moscow, B. i. Publ., 1992, Part 2, 282 p. (In Russian).
21. Arian A., Barnes S. The dominant party system: A neglected model of democratic stability. The Journal of Politics. 1974, V. 36, I. 3, pp. 592–614. DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/2129246.
22. Conyngham W. Party-state relationships in the Soviet Union. World Affairs. 1969, V. 132, I. 1, pp. 48–63.
23. Daniels R. A documentary history of communism in Russia: From Lenin to Gorbachev. Burlington, University of Vermont Publ., 1993, 446 p.
24. Hill R.J. The USSR: Social change and party adaptability. Comparative Politics. 1985, V. 17, I. 4, pp. 453–471. DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/421748.
25. Hoffmann E.P. The evolution of the Soviet political system. Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science. 1984, V. 35, I. 3, pp. 1–13. DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/1174113.
26. McAuley M. Soviet politics 1917–1991. Oxford, Oxford University Press Publ., 1992, 528 p.
27. Moore B. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union: 1928–1944: A study in elite formation and function. American Sociological Review. 1944, V. 9, I. 3, pp. 267–278. DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/2086079.
28. Sartori G. Parties and party systems: A framework for analysis. Colchester, ECPR Press Publ., 2005, 356 p.
