All-Russia People's Front

The All-Russia People's Front (ONF; ), is a political coalition in Russia started in 2011 by then-Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin to provide the United Russia political party with "new ideas, new suggestions and new faces". The ONF aims to forge formal alliances between United Russia (the ruling party from 2001 onwards) and numerous Russian non-governmental organizations. On 12 June 2013 the ONF founding conference elected Putin (President of Russia from 2012) as the Front's leader. History At the meeting of United Russia on 6 May 2011, Putin called for the creation of a "broad popular front [of] like-minded political forces" to participate in the Duma election. He included United Russia and other political parties, business associations, trade unions and youth', women's and veterans' organizations. He claimed that United Russia's party list would include non-party candidates nominated by these organizations. A website was set up involving headquarters, regional branches and leadership. The Front urged individuals and groups that care about the "fate" and "victory" of Russia and want "access to participation in power" to fill out an application on the website. Putin's aides have stated that he is the "informal head" of the popular front, but deputy prime minister and chief of government staff Vyacheslav Volodin was named the head of the popular front headquarters.