Plan Putina — an ideological formula denoting the political and economic program of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin.
The Essence of the Phenomenon
Declaring support for the "Plan Putina" was one of the central planks of the United Russia party's campaign ahead of the parliamentary and presidential elections of 2007 and 2008 respectively.
The conceptual foundation of the "Plan Putina" was first outlined by APEK Director General D.I. Orlov in May 2007. According to Orlov's concept, the Plan Putina encompasses the development of a national model of democracy, a one-and-a-half-party system, a just society, an innovation economy, a reliance on large corporations, the consolidation of the "Russian world," and institutional continuity.
History of the Plan
The term "Plan Putina" was introduced into political circulation by B.V. Gryzlov, Chairman of the Supreme Council of United Russia.
On 22 May 2007, at an expanded joint session of the Supreme Council and General Council of United Russia, B.V. Gryzlov delivered a political address titled "On the Implementation of the Plan Putina by the United Russia Party."
The Party's Intellectual Property
On 26 February 2008, the Sverdlovsk Regional Court ruled that the phrase "Plan Putina" is not the intellectual property of the United Russia party and permitted Russian citizens to use it at their own discretion. The case arose from an appeal against an electoral commission ruling to pull campaign advertisements by independent Yekaterinburg mayoral candidate Aleksey Yesaulkov, in which the phrase "Plan Putina" had been used without United Russia's permission. The electoral commission had held that Yesaulkov had no right to use the phrase, as it constituted the party's intellectual property. The court, however, rejected the commission's arguments.
The party A Just Russia also played on the slogan, rendering it as "Plan Putina — the Victory of Justice."
The Plan Booklet
Beyond its appearances in slogans, there also exists an illustrated booklet titled "Plan Putina," which began to be distributed free of charge as campaign material ahead of the 2007 State Duma elections.
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The goal of the Plan Putina is the victory of Russia. Victory over poverty and corruption, over economic and technological backwardness. Victory in the competitive struggle among the world's leading powers. The result of this victory will be Russia's rightful place in the international division of labor and distribution of income. Russia's victory means a new architecture of the world — one in which our country will be able to shape global policy for the sake of the security and prosperity of its citizens. | 
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The brochure contains three sections devoted to the three stages of the "Plan Putina": "Establishing Order," "Concentration of Resources," and "Development of the Country." Each section opens with an extended quotation from Putin; statements by United Russia leader Boris Gryzlov are also included, but the bulk of the text consists of anonymous theses.
The brochure identifies five paragraphs:
- Preservation of the people. Preserving the richness of language, traditions, and cultural space; developing education and culture;
- Building a competitive economy. An innovative path of development. Support for industries serving as locomotives of the economy. Infrastructure development. Support for small business;
- A new quality of life for citizens. Continuation of national projects. Raising wages and pensions. Solving housing problems;
- Civil society: realizing the interests of every individual;
- A sovereign state. The vertical of power. Modernization of governance. Countering terrorism.
Plan Putina in the United Russia Program
In the electoral platform of the United Russia party for the 2007 parliamentary elections, "Plan Putina" is formulated as follows:
- the further development of Russia as a unique civilization, protection of a common cultural space, the Russian language, and our historical traditions;
- increasing the competitiveness of the economy by pursuing an innovative path of development, supporting science, developing infrastructure, and boosting investment — above all in high technology and in the industries serving as locomotives of economic growth;
- ensuring a new quality of life for citizens through the continued implementation of priority national projects, further and significant increases in wages, pensions, and scholarships, and assisting citizens in resolving their housing problems;
- supporting civil society institutions, stimulating social mobility and civic engagement, and advancing public initiatives;
- strengthening Russia's sovereignty and the country's defense capability, securing for it a worthy place in a multipolar world.
On Collective Responsibility
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Speaking at the congress, Putin commented on the so-called "Plan Putin," on which the United Russia members are basing their election campaign. "You have tied your party strategy to the name of the incumbent president — your humble servant," the president began.
"I admit that from the standpoint of campaign logic this may make some sense, but I am not sure this plan needed to be so personalized. Especially since its author is not a specific individual but a large collective," the head of state said. Putin noted that the plan is essentially the product of the work of the government, regional and local authorities, the Central Bank, and both houses of parliament. "At the same time, it is certainly true that without the decisive support of the leading political force — your party, the United Russia party — we would not have been able to implement this plan," the president said. "We would not have been able to embody it in specific laws, decrees, and government resolutions," Putin noted. He also recalled that virtually all the steps forming the foundation of this plan were widely discussed. |
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Where the plan was conceived
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This slogan wasn't my idea — it was actually coined by United Russia. The point is that in all the addresses to the Federal Assembly over the past seven years, practically every one of them (certainly the last five) contained some key section devoted to the development of one sphere or another of the state's activity over the medium term. Economics, the social sphere, politics, international affairs.
Every year there was some main section. And if you arrange all these main sections into a coherent system, it can be considered a medium-term plan for the country's development. I spoke about this in my Address this year. I said outright that if we look at everything that has been formulated in recent years in the addresses, we will see that this is indeed a plan for the country's development. But in the context of the pre-election campaign they framed it as "Putin's Plan"… This enjoys the support of the public. I was just telling Nikolay Zlobin, in answering his question, that to a considerable degree this "plan" contains a great many social issues. The positioning of Russia as a country pursuing an independent foreign policy is also supported by an overwhelming majority of the population. Taken together, this gave the party the opportunity to frame it as "Putin's Plan," bearing in mind the sitting President's fairly high approval rating. Today that is the case; yesterday it may have been different; tomorrow perhaps something else will change. But in the course of the election campaign, from the point of view of the people crafting these slogans, it seems quite justified. I have no objection to it. |
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Putin's Plan in Action
According to some Nizhny Novgorod residents, one of the most successful projects was the implementation of the Cheboksary Catastrophe. However, the results of the 1930s–1940s were never achieved.
Public Opinion
In late September 2007, VTsIOM conducted a sociological survey, the results of which revealed that at that time 70 % of respondents were unable to say what "Putin's Plan" actually entailed.
12 % of respondents (among those who knew or had heard something about "Putin's Plan") believed that such a plan was needed by the country and should be put into practice by Vladimir Putin himself (7 % of those who knew or had heard something about "Putin's Plan").
Interesting Facts
- Plan Putina soon came to be nicknamed "Mein Plan," by analogy with another well-known book.
- After the Russian national football team's victory over England on October 17, 2007, an article appeared titled "McLaren's Plan — Russia's Victory."