The technology of primaries on the Russian political soil

The paper analyzes the possible political consequences of the primaries campaign pursued by the United Russia Party in 2016. The party's leadership attaches great importance to this campaign. Very high demands are made of the participants of the primaries. The influence of primaries is considered in two aspects: according to their impact of the Russian political system and to its consequences for the United Russia Party. For the Russian political system, the primaries will be a factor of democratization. For the party the consequences could be contradictory ones. On the one hand, the primaries will contribute to the development of inner-party democracy. On the other hand, the use of large-scale technology of primaries carries certain risks for the party.