In response to the news that President Dmitry Medvedev may be pursuing the formation of a new political party to support his modernization agenda, Vladimir Frolov has a new piece arguing that he needs a different kind of party, of the “tea” variety.  The suggestion that modernization and liberalization in Russia needs to be more than just a top-down process and must be supported by a genuine social movement has also been made by Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Medvedev does need a political instrument to marshal public support for his modernization efforts. He has to shed the perception of a political loner, a detached and techie president who promotes his visions through his blog. At some point, he will have to fight for his agenda by leading a political party in national elections.