As the leadership of United Russia has begun to doubt the survivability of its brand, officials are beginning serious discussions about the future of the country's dominant political party.
Political analyst and party member Olga Kryshtanovskaya said she was confident the rebranding would take place.
"We need to work on our mistakes, develop a coherent ideology, and also find a leader. We have to find a way out of this jelly, when we have neither Putin, Medvedev, nor Gryzlov at the helm," she said.
Senior United Russia official Yury Shuvalov said that while the idea of renewing the party has been brought forward before, "those at the top are no longer allergic to these discussions."
In January, Shuvalov suggested splitting the party into liberal, social and patriotic factions.
One unnamed official said the idea of liquidating the party was not out of the question. "The option of creating new parties is being discussed," he said.
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