**While United Russia in itself is not a far-right party it is associated with the far right as can be revealed through its connections.**
United Russia is the ruling political party of Russia and has been since the early years of Vladimir Putin’s presidency. United Russia is the largest party in Russia, and as of 2022 it holds 341 (more than 75%) of the 450 seats in the parliament (State Duma), having constituted the majority in the chamber since 2007. After the period of wild capitalism of the 1990s and the rule of president Boris Yeltsin, his successor Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000 and in 2001, the ruling United Russia party was formed through a merger of the Unity and the Fatherland – All Russia parties.
In 2009, it proclaimed Russian conservatism as its official ideology, but its ideology has shifted over time toward centrism.
**BORN case**
Many researchers and journalists have noted the connection between rightwing terrorist organization BORN which commited several high profile murders and the Kremlin. Ilya Goryachev and Nikita Tikhonov, members of the BORN, created a demonstrably loyal to the authorities organization “Russian Image” and published a magazine of the same name. Goryachev tried to get in touch with officials from the presidential administration to show that the “Russian Image”, unlike the DPNI, is a contractual structure. The “Russian Image’s” greatest achievement was the concert of a popular neo-Nazi bands right outside the Kremlin on November 4, 2009. In addition to political actions, the “Russian Image” activists actively monitored their political opponents, receiving grants from organizations close to the Kremlin. “Russian Image” activists obtained relevant data from the police, using their status as deputy aides, and then passed it on to neo-Nazi street activists. On 16 November 2009 the day after Khutorskoy’s murder, antifascists openly smashed up the reception room of Maxim Mischenko, deputy of the State Duma from “United Russia” and leader of “United Russia’s Young Guard”, who had [publicly cooperated](https://antifa.fm/born/2011/05/obraz-story) with the “Russian Image”. Ilya Goryachev, the BORN ideologue sentenced to life imprisonment, was an assistant to Viktor Vodolatsky, a Duma deputy from the “United Russia”.
**International ties**
The ruling party “United Russia” publicly maintains the anti-Nazi rhetoric which uses against Ukraine and western countries. At the same time, “United Russia” has established contacts with far-right European parties. In December 2016, it [signed](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-austria-farright-russia-idUSKBN1481MJ) a cooperation agreement with Austria’s far-right Freedom Party and [established](https://er.ru/activity/news/edinaya-rossiya-budet-sotrudnichat-s-nemeckoj-partiej-alternativa-dlya-germanii) contacts with the NATO and EU-critical Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which proved an organic ally for Moscow. The youth organization “United Russia’s Young Guard” became a partner of the AfD youth union “Junge Alternative”. In 2014, “United Russia” [became](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39478066) friends with the French National Front, whose leader Marine Le Pen even wrote a public letter to the leaders of the Russian party. Then it became known that Marine Le Pen [received](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/a-russian-bank-gave-marine-le-pens-party-a-loan-then-weird-things-began-happening/2018/12/27/960c7906-d320-11e8-a275-81c671a50422_story.html) a loan for her election campaign in France from a Russian bank.
