The Republican Party of the Russian Federation (Russian: Республиканская партия Российской Федерации) is a pro-reform and pro-democracy political party in the RSFSR and later in the Russian Federation. Nowadays, the party still exists (though from 2007 on is not registered any more). It is led by Vladimir Ryzhkov and opposes the Putin regime. In 2011, party's dissolution was held to be unlawful by the European Court of Human Rights.[1]
Contents |
The organization was founded in 1990 by members of the Democratic Platform of the CPSU, who had become disillusioned with the party's unwillingness to reform. The foundation of the new party took place in November, 1990. Nikolay Lysenko, Stepan Sulakshin and Vyacheslav Shostakovsky were elected as the three co-chairman. The Republican Party joined the Democratic Russia bloc, an umbrella organisation of pro-democracy movements. The Republican Party was close to the Social Democratic Party of Russia, that was founded earlier in 1990. The two parties shared similar program and there were attempts to merge. The Republican Party's program has been characterised as liberal and pragmatic; similarly to the Social Democratic Party, however, the Republican Party had internal factions: ranging from democratic socialist to social liberal to liberal conservative.
The RP and the SDP formed a united faction (Объединенная депутатская группа РПРФ/СДПР) in the Russian Congress of People's Deputies (later, they fused with similar groups to form the faction 'Left Centre', which was pro-reform but more moderate than groups like the 'Radical Democrats', which advocated radical economic reforms). In contrast to the social democrats, the Republicans participated in the Movement of Democratic Reforms that was formed in summer, 1991 and included mostly liberal-minded former nomeklatura members (Alexander Yakovlev, Gavriil Popov et al.). The Republican Party initially supported both Yegor Gaidar's economic reforms and Boris Yeltsin in his conflict with the Supreme Soviet; later, some of the leaders turned more critical of Yeltsin. The Republican Party left the Democratic Russia bloc in October, 1993 due to disagreements with the bloc's policies.
The party members won altogether 12 seats in the newly elected parliament in 1993: 5 republicans within the Yabloko bloc and 7 from Democratic Choice of Russia. In the 1995 legislative election, party ran within the Pamfilova - Gurev - N.Lysenko bloc, that failed to cross the 5% barrier. Lysenko and Ella Pamfilova won seat through majoritarian district.
At the end of 1998, Nikolay Lysenko, retaining the post of RP chairman, joined Yuri Luzhkov's Otechestvo bloc, whereas a number of the regional organisations of the Republican Party cooperated with small liberal parties like Right Cause or Sergey Kiriyenko's New Force etc.
In 1999, Lysenko won a parliament seat in a majoritarian district. In 2002, the party was reorganized into the Republican Party of Russia. [2]