 "The Guardian" claims that Rodina was "set up by President Vladimir Putin's allies" in 2003 "to leach votes from the Communist party".It is often considered to be a satellite party under United Russia, the ruling political party of Russia, as it is one of the only few other parties that can currently participate in national-level elections in Russian Federation.Following allegations brought by the Communist Party and ousted reform-oriented liberal parties such as the Union of Right Forces and Yabloko that President Vladimir Putin's United Russia had manipulated elections to ensure a favorable outcome, Rodina declined to field its own candidate in the 2004 presidential elections.