(RAD) Abstract: For 15 years, United Russia has been the primary electoral vehicle of the Kremlin, and it won a landslide victory in the 2016 State Duma elections. United Russia’s dominant performance is attributable to five main factors: Putin’s popularity, elite cohesion, institutional design, the use of administrative resources, and an effective electoral strategy. From afar, United Russia’s dominance made these elections seem uneventful, but beneath the surface, the election exposed several problems that the regime will have to confront in the future. In particular, the party is still faced with the perennial challenge of ensuring elite cohesion and, as the economic crisis continues, United Russia will find it increasingly difficult to maintain social support. In this article, I analyze three elements of United Russia’s dominance: its relationship to Putin, its position among political elites, and its electoral strategy.
