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Party of crooks and thieves

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A poster that won the Navalny contest "Against the party of crooks and thieves".
"Down with the power of crooks and thieves!"

Party of crooks and thieves (Russian: Партия жуликов и воров - Partiya zhulikov i vorov, abbr. Russian: ПЖиВ - PZhiV[1]) is a popular[2] expression in Russia which refers to the ruling United Russia party, led by Dmitry Medvedev put into use by blogger and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny[3] in February 2011.[4]

Origin

On February 2, 2011 in an interview with Finam FM radio station, blogger and anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny responded to the question about United Russia:[5]

К партии «Единая Россия» я отношусь очень плохо. Партия «Единая Россия» — это партия коррупции, это партия жуликов и воров.
I think very poorly of United Russia. United Russia is the party of corruption, the party of crooks and thieves.[6]

The English version "party of crooks and thieves" first appeared in an article of The New Yorker on April 4, 2011 by Russian-born American journalist Julia Ioffe.[6]

Usage

The slogan was widely used during the 2011 Russian legislative election campaign[7] by parties and individuals.[8]

Posters, banners, stickers were common during the protests in 2011 and 2012.

Public opinion

A Levada Center survey on July 19, 2011 revealed that 33% of Russian agree with that United Russia is a "party of crooks and thieves", while 47% disagreed.[9] Another survey by the same center in June 2012 showed an increase in respondents agreeing with the characterization. Of the total, 47% agreed and 40% disagreed.[10] The latest survey was conducted in April 2013 by Levada Center. For the first time since 2011, it showed the majority of Russians (51%) agreeing with the phrase.[11] At the same poll, 62% of Russian said United Russia members are about "maintaining and strengthening their own power."[12]

In February 2011, Navalny created a poll in his LiveJournal blog in which around 38,000 people participated with over 96% agreeing with the characterization of United Russia as "party of crooks and thieves".[13]

Reaction from United Russia

On October 11, 2011 the Lyublinsky District Court rejected the lawsuit of United Russia member Vladimir Svirid against Navalny.[14]

On November 24, 2011 during a debate on Rossiya 1, State Duma Member Alexander Khinshtein (a member of United Russia) stated:

United Russia works. It does everything to change the life [standards] in our country. They tell us about a "party of crooks and thieves." I will respond them. It is better to be in a "party of crooks and thieves" than in a "party of murderers, rapists and robbers."[15]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Party of Crooks and Thieves protests.

References

  1. ^ "Большинство тех, кто голосовал против ПЖиВ, не читали Навального, не ужасались происшествию на Ленинском проспекте. У каждого из них случился какой-то свой персональный Ленинский проспект". Novaya Gazeta. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  2. ^
  3. ^
  4. ^
  5. ^
  6. ^ a b Ioffe, Julia (4 April 2011). "Net Impact: One man's cyber-crusade against Russian corruption". The New Yorker. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  7. ^ Judah, Ben (2013). Fragile Empire: How Russia Fell In and Out of Love with Vladimir Putin. Yale University Press. p. 222. ISBN 9780300181210.
  8. ^
  9. ^ 19.07.2011. Левада-центр. О партии «Единая Россия»
  10. ^ Левада Центр «Единая Россия» не может избавиться от ярлыка «Партией жуликов и воров» её считают все больше россиян, [Левада-Центр], 04.07.2012
  11. ^
  12. ^ Khazan, Olga (29 April 2013). "More Than Half of Russians Say Putin's Party Are 'Crooks and Thieves'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  13. ^ "Единая Россия" ответила Алексею Навальному как смогла. Lenta.ru (in Russian). 22 February 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  14. ^ «Партия жуликов и воров» легализована (in Russian). Gazeta.ru. 11 October 2011. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  15. ^ «Партия жуликов и воров» схлестнулась в прямом эфире с «Партией убийц и насильников». Жириновский двум уральским единороссам из ФСБ: «Нам с вами срать на одном поле противно» // УРА.ru: 25.11.2011
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