In order to consolidate society, endow it with one idea and, possibly, encroach on the creation of a unifying ideology in May 2011, a few months before the elections to the State Duma, the All-Russian Popular Front, or ONF, was formed. The initiator of the new movement was Vladimir Putin - at that time the head of the Russian government, the former chairman of the United Russia party. Why do we need an all-Russian popular front, how to join it, he spoke in detail at the first congress of the ONF, while opening up opportunities for any political forces to join the pro-government structure, as well as non-partisan representatives of public organizations of any persuasion and direction.
Multidirectional coalition
The idea of the formation of the ONF was associated with the desire to unite numerous public organizations under a common roof, while not having an explicit politicalcoloring. It was the declaration of the absence of political preferences that provided the new structure with a supra-party position. At the same time, members of the ONF have the opportunity to run for parliamentary, as well as any local elections on the lists of United Russia, without being members of it.
On June 12, 2011, the central headquarters was established. The All-Russian Popular Front was headed by Vladimir Putin, and Alexei Anisimov became the head of the executive committee. He moved to a new position from the post of deputy head of the Russian Presidential Administration for Domestic Policy.
It is worth noting that officially the new organization was not positioned as some kind of political force or lobbying mechanism. However, it was precisely these functions that experts, both Russian and foreign, began to talk about in the first place.
Fresh blood
The creation of a new movement was officially explained by the desire to attract new faces, proposals and ideas. This was relevant precisely in connection with the upcoming parliamentary elections to the State Duma of the sixth convocation. Under the auspices of the ONF, fresh forces were gathered to support United Russia, and a platform was also created for the future presidential campaign in 2012. Thus began the All-Russian People's Front. How to join it, its goals and objectives, political function - all these issues have been discussed for a long time on the Web and on television.
The ONF program was prepared by the Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Research. But the text did not satisfy the main leaders, so the final versionThe program was compiled on the basis of speeches by Dmitry Medvedev (then President of Russia) and Vladimir Putin. The image of a check mark was chosen as the logo, one wing of which is made in the form of the Russian tricolor, and the second represents the full name of the organization.
Declared goals and objectives
From the entire extensive program of the ONF, one can single out a certain quintessence of the main provisions, which boiled down to the task of building a sovereign democratic and strong state. Such consolidation of society also implies building a market economy, the leading principles of which should be competition, freedom of entrepreneurial activity, support for small and medium-sized businesses, and social partnership. In addition, the ONF sees the formation of a free and successful society built on the basis of equality in all signs of differentiation as its goal.
First Companions
Already a month later, 450 public organizations, all-Russian and regional, were listed among the members of the newborn ONF. More than 170 associations and movements applied for membership in the name of Prime Minister Putin at the same time. In particular, the Russian Union of Afghanistan Veterans, the Union of Women, the Union of Pensioners and others were among the first to join.
To the question "how to join the All-Russian People's Front?" Dmitry Peskov, the Prime Minister's press secretary, replied that this could be done via the Internet and Putin's public receptions. To apply, on the official websiteONF needs to fill out a form similar to the questionnaires of popular social networks. Columns are required to be filled in, in which it is required to indicate the name, surname, education, social status, home address.
At the same time, there was a certain embarrassment when the All-Russian People's Front, which was explained in detail on the official website, published a list in the column "Social status", where "homeless", "unemployed" and "prisoner" were indicated. At the same moment, bloggers began to actively joke on this topic on the Internet, recalling the country's "main prisoners" - Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev. Today, there is no such list in the public domain on the website.
Shouldn't be "I joined the ONF"
Two years after the formation of the movement, news appeared in the media that only private individuals would be allowed to join the Popular Front. The active entry of entire labor collectives, due to which its mass character was created, gave rise to various kinds of rumors, including the assertion that the vast majority of such "mass members" entered the organization not of their own free will. This decision was explained as a desire to clearly define how to join the All-Russian Popular Front, so that there would be no suspicions from the series “I joined the ONF.”
Besides, initially there was a “free accession”, which was not documented in any way. Since 2013, each new participant in the movement must sign a declaration, which confirms his agreement with the courseONF.
Today, questions about the All-Russian Popular Front itself - how to join it and whether it is generally necessary - are of little concern to anyone. After the last presidential election, the movement's public tumultuous activity has somewhat subsided. In this regard, it makes sense to assume that the ONF will become active again on the eve of the Duma elections in December 2016. Considering that for the first time since 2003 they will be held under a mixed system (half of the seats will leave according to party lists, half - in single-member districts), it is logical to assume that the ONF will become the main tool for finding new faces.
