Transformation of Ural () was a regional political association in Russia, operating in
Sverdlovsk Oblast
Sverdlovsk Oblast ( rus, Свердловская область, Sverdlovskaya oblastʹ, p=svʲɪrdˈlofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia located in the Ural Federal District. Its administrative center is the c ...
. It participated in
1995 Russian legislative election
Legislative elections was held in Russia on 17 December 1995 to elect all 450 seats in the 2nd State Duma of the Russian Federation.
The anti-government Communist Party won a total of 147 seats, the most deputies of any single bloc in the ch ...
as Transformation of the Fatherland ().
Origins
In 1993 autonomist movement in Sverdlovsk Oblast resulted in proclaiming the
Ural Republic on 31 October. Ten days after the regional leader, the
head of administration of Sverdlovsk Oblast
Eduard Rossel
Eduard Ergartovich Rossel (; born 8 October 1937) is a Russian politician who served as Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast from 1995 to 2009 and, from 2009 to 2022, as a member of the Federation Council.
Childhood and war
Eduard Rossel was born in Bor ...
was removed from office by president
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...
, and the republic ceased to exist. Transformation of Ural was founded in November 1993 by Rossel's supporters. Alexey Vorobyov, a close ally of Eduard Rossel, was its initial organizer, and
Anton Bakov was Transformation's political coordinator for a long time.
Electoral history
Regional level
The first elections, in which the Transformation of Ural took part, took place on 10 April 1994. The movement received three out of 28 seats in the Sverdlovsk Oblast Duma. Gaining support from other factions, Rossel was elected chairman of the Duma. The gubernatorial election of 1995 became a key event in the Transformation's history. Eduard Rossel and his successor as the head of administration Alexey Strakhov were the frontrunners. In the second round of elections, Rossel won with 59% of the vote. The 1996 election to the Legislative Assembly was also successful: Transformation won 35.2% and received six mandates out of 14. Two years later, the movement was in for a failure. In the 1998 election, the bloc received only 9.26% of the vote and two seats, overtaken by the "Our Home — Our City" of
Arkady Chernetsky.
After this defeat, Rossel decided to drop the very name "Transformation of Ural." He founded the "Unity of the Urals" bloc, later renamed "For the Native Ural." This organization practically ceased to exist in 2004, when governor Eduard Rossel joined the
United Russia
The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...
party, as well as the bloc's representatives in the legislative assembly did. Amendments to the federal law on political parties in the early 2000s forced regional parties in Russia to abandon their activity.
Federal level
Shortly before the
elections to the 2nd State Duma in 1995, Eduard Rossel created the All-Russian public organization "Transformation of the Fatherland" on the basis of the "Transformation of Ural." On 28 September 1995 Transformation of the Fatherland formed the eponymous electoral bloc, allying with the Free Democratic Party of Russia (SvDPR) of
Marina Salye
Marina Yevgenyevna Salye (; 19 October 1934 – 21 March 2012) was a Russian geologist and politician, being the former deputy of the legislative assembly of Leningrad (renamed St. Petersburg on 6 September 1991). She was also a people's deputy ...
and the All-Russian Party for Human Security (VPBCh) of Nikolay Arzhannikov. It did not overcome the 5%
electoral threshold
The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of votes that a candidate or political party requires before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature.
This limit can operate in various ...
, receiving 339,654 votes (0.49%, 23rd place). Anatoly Kotkov, a member of the
Democratic Party of Russia
The Democratic Party of Russia (DPR) is a conservative Russian political party that was founded in 1990. Under the leadership of Andrei Vladimirovich Bogdanov, Andrey Bogdanov, the party advocated the entry of Russia into the European Union. ...
, was elected to the Duma from this bloc in
Nizhny Tagil constituency
The Nizhny Tagil constituency (No.171) is a Russian legislative constituency in Sverdlovsk Oblast. The constituency covers central Sverdlovsk Oblast and anchors in the industrial city of Nizhny Tagil.
Members elected
Election results 1993 ...
.
Symbols
The white-green-black flag, used by Transformation of Ural, was first raised in 1992 at the
Mansi people
The Mansi (Mansi language, Mansi: Мāньси / Мāньси мāхум, ''Māńsi / Māńsi māhum'', ) are an Ob-Ugrians, Ob-Ugric Indigenous people living in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Khanty–Mansia, an Autonomous okrugs of Russia, au ...
's congress in
Uray
Uray (; Mansi: Урай) a town in Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug, located on the Konda River from Khanty-Mansiysk. Population:
History
It was founded as a settlement for oil field workers. It was granted town status in 1965.
Administrativ ...
.
Anton Bakov is considered the initiator of the use of this flag in the Ural Republic project, for which he was developing the constitution. Bakov denies that the tricolor was previously used by Mansi activists.
Another symbol of the movement was a golden figure of a bird. It was described either as an eagle or a pigeon, and was redrawn from one of the
Kasli iron sculpture
Kasli cast-iron sculpture was produced in Kasli (Southern Ural), from the mid-19th century. A large collection, including an elaborate pavilion from the 1900 Paris World Fair, is displayed in the Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts. There is also ...
s.
The Flag: Bulletin of the Russian Centre of Vexillology and Heraldry
, No. 11, July 2008, p. 3
References
{{Separatists in Russia
Defunct political parties in Russia
1993 establishments in Russia
2004 disestablishments in Russia
Politics of Sverdlovsk Oblast