Political parties in Russia

Russia
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of the Russian Federation
Constitution Law Mental Health Law Russian Criminal Code Tax Code
Presidency President: Vladimir Putin Presidential Administration Security Council State Council
Executive Prime Minister: Dmitry Medvedev Government Cabinet (45th)
Legislature Federal Assembly Federation Council Chairman: Valentina Matviyenko State Duma 7th convocation Chairman: Vyacheslav Volodin
Judiciary Constitutional Court Supreme Court Prosecutor General Supreme Court of Arbitration Legal system
Elections Presidential elections Legislative elections Central Election Commission Electoral geography Political parties List of presidential candidates
Federalism Federal subjects Heads of federal subjects Regional parliaments
Foreign relations European Union NATO United Nations Arab–Israeli conflict
Related topics Administrative divisions Armed forces Civic Chamber Accounts Chamber E-Government Opposition Human rights Political abuse of psychiatry
Other countries Atlas

This article lists political parties in Russia. Russia has a multi-party system. Currently there are four parties that make up the federal parliament, the State Duma, with one dominant party (United Russia).

After the Perestroika reforms in the 1990s, there were over 100 registered parties in Russia, but the people elected to the State Duma showcased only a small number of parties. Since 2000, during Vladimir Putin's presidency, the number of parties quickly decreased. From 2008 to 2012 there were only 7 parties in Russia, and every new attempt to register new, independent parties was blocked. The last registered party was the government-organized Right Cause. Before the 2011 parliamentary elections, about 10 opposition parties were denied registration. However, after a series of mass protests and a 2011 European Court decision on the case of the Republican Party of Russia, the law was changed and the number of registered parties quickly increased to more than 48 in December 2012.

History

Party of power

In Russian politics, a "party of power" is a specially established party which unconditionally supports the current president or prime minister in the parliament.

These parties have been considered parties of power:

• Interregional Group of Deputies/Democratic Russia (1990-1993, Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union/Congress of People's Deputies of Russia/Supreme Soviet of Russia)
• Choice of Russia (1993-1995) and Party of Russian Unity and Accord headed by Sergey Shakhray
• Our Home – Russia (1995-1999)
• Ivan Rybkin Bloc (considered as a potential left "party of power", during Russian legislative election, 1995)
• Unity (1999-2001/2003)
• A Just Russia (2006-2008/2010, the second "party of power", supporting Vladimir Putin and opposing United Russia)
• United Russia (2001–present)

Legislation

Certificate of state registration of political parties in Russia, issued by the Ministry of Justice of Russia

Social composition of voters

According to studies, United Russia voters in 2007 were younger and more market-oriented than the average voter. The party's electorate includes a substantial share of government employees, pensioners and military personnel, who are dependent on the state for their livelihood.^[1] Sixty-four percent of United Russia supporters are female. According to researchers, this could be because women place a great value on stability. In the run-up to the 2011 Duma elections, it was reported that support for United Russia was growing among young people.^[2]

Registered parties

All parties registered by the Ministry of Justice have the right to participate in any elections all over the country. The list is placed on the Justice Ministry website. In December 2012, there were 48 registered parties in Russia; 4 of them are currently represented in the State Duma.

Currently represented in the State Duma

• United Russia (343)
• Communist Party (42)
• Liberal Democratic Party (39)
• A Just Russia (23)
• Rodina (1)
• Civic Platform (1)
• Independent (1)

Currently represented in regional parliaments

• Patriots of Russia
• Yabloko
• Civic Platform (Russia)
• Communists of Russia
• Communist Party of Social Justice
• Party of Growth
• Rodina (political party)
• Russian Party of Pensioners for Justice
• Green Alliance–The People's Party
• Republican Party of Russia – People's Freedom Party

All currently registered parties

Parties without official registration

Active unregistered parties

• Democratic Union (Демократический Союз, Demokraticheskiy soyuz) (1988–present)
• All-Union Communist Party Bolsheviks (Всесоюзная Коммунистическая партия большевиков, ВКПБ, Vsesoyuznaya Kommunisticheskaya Partiya bol'shevikov, VKPb) (1991–present)
• Russian Communist Workers' Party – Revolutionary Party of Communists (Российская Коммунистическая Рабочая Партия – Революционная Партия Коммунистов, Rossiiskaja Kommunističeskaja Rabočaja Partija – Revolyutsionnaja Partija Kommunistov) (2001–present)
• Russian People's Democratic Union (Российский народно-демократический союз, Rossiiskyi narodno-demokratichesky soyuz) (2007–present)
• Great Russia (Великая Россия, Velikaya Rossiya) (2007–present)
• Pirate Party of Russia (2009–present)
• The Other Russia (2010–present)
• Alliance of the Revolutionary Socialists (Союз революционных социалистов, СРС, Soyuz Revolutsionnykh Sotsialistov, SRS)

Historical parties

• Merged into United Russia:
  • Unity (1999–2001)
  • Fatherland – All Russia (1998–2002)
  • Our Home – Russia (1995–2001)
  • Agrarian Party of Russia (1993–2008)
• Merged into A Just Russia:
  • People's Party of the Russian Federation (Народная партия Российской Федерации, Narodnaya partiya Rossiyskoy Federatsii)
  • Rodina or Motherland-National Patriotic Union (Партия "РОДИНА", Rodina - Narodno-Patrioticheskiy Soyuz)
  • Russian Party of Life (Российская партия жизни, Rossiyskaya Partiya Zhizni)
  • Russian Pensioners' Party (Российская партия пенсионеров, Rossiyskaya Partiya Pensionerov)
  • United Socialist Party of Russia (Социалистическая единая партия России, Sotsialisticheskaya yedinaya partiya Rossii)
  • Party of Social Justice (Партия социальной справедливости, Partiya Sotsial'noy Spravedlivosti)
  • Russian Ecological Party "The Greens" (Российская экологическая партия «Зеленые», Rossiiskaya ekologicheskaya partiya "Zyelyonyye")
• Merged to form Right Cause:
  • Civilian Power (Гражданская Сила, Grazhdanskaya Sila)
  • Democratic Party of Russia (Демократическая партия России, Demokraticheskaya partiya Rossii)
  • Union of Rightist Forces (Союз Правых Сил, Soyuz Pravykh Sil)
• Merged into Communist Party of the Russian Federation:
  • People's Union (Народный Союз, Narodnyi Soyuz)
• Merged into Patriots of Russia:
  • Party of Peace and Unity (Российская политическая партия Мира и Единства, Rossiyskaya politicheskaya partiya Mira i Edinstva)
• Beer Lovers Party (Партия любителей пива, Partiâ lûbitelej piva)
• Conceptual Party Unity (Yedineniye)
• Russian Section of the Committee for a Workers' International (Социалистическое Сопротивление)
• Social Democratic Party of Russia (Социал-демократическая партия России, Social-Demokraticheskaya partiya Rossii)
• Christian Democratic Party of Russia (Российская Христианско-Демократическая партия)
• Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Коммунистическая партия Советского Союза, KPSS '92)
• Conservative Party of Russia (Консервативная партия России)
• Eurasia Party (Евразия, Yevraziya)
• Green Alternative (Зелёная Альтернатива)
• Green Russia (Зеленая Россия)

Banned parties in Russia

• Communist Party of the Soviet Union
• National Bolshevik Party (Национал-большевистская партия, Natsional-bol'shevitskaya partiya)
• Hizb ut-Tahrir (Хизб ут-Тахрир)

Soviet parties

• Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Коммунисти́ческая Па́ртия Сове́тского Сою́за, Kommunističeskaja Partija Sovetskogo Soujuza). Factions:
  • Anti-Party Group
  • Group of Democratic Centralism
  • Left Communists
  • Left Opposition
  • Right Opposition
  • United Opposition
  • Workers' Opposition
• Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union

Parties of the Russian Empire

• Constitutional Democratic Party (Российская Конституционно-демократическая партия, Rossiyskaya Konstitutsionno-demokraticheskaya partiya)
• Union of October 17
• Party of Democratic Reform
• Socialist-Revolutionary Party (Партия Социалистов-революционеров, Partija Socialistov-revoljucionerov)
  • Left Socialist-Revolutionaries
  • Trudoviks
• Popular Socialists
• Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Росси́йская Социа́л-Демократи́ческая Рабо́чая Па́ртия, Rossijskaja Social-demokrastičeskaja Rabočaja Partija). Factions:
  • Bolsheviks
  • Mensheviks
  • Mezhraiontsy
  • Yedinstvo
• Polish Socialist Party
• Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania
• General Jewish Labour Bund in Lithuania, Poland and Russia
• Jewish Socialist Workers Party
• Union of the Russian People

Other historical parties

• For Holy Russia (За Русь Святую, Za Rus’ Svyatuyu)
• Jewish Social Democratic Labour Party (Poalei Zion), a 1906-1928 Zionist socialist political party in Russia
• Pamyat (Память, Pamyat')
• People's National Party (Народная национальная партия, Narodnaya natsional'naya partiya)
• Russian Maoist Party (Российская маоистская партия, Rossiyskaya maoistskaya partiya)
• Russian Movement
• Russian National Socialist Party (previously Russian National Union) (Русская Национальная Социалистическая Партия, Russkaya Natsional'naya Socialisticheskaya partiya)
• Russian National Unity (Русское Национальное Единство, Russkoye Natsional'noye Yedinstvo)
• Union of Social Democrats (Союз социал-демократов)
• Communists of Russia (Коммунисты России)
• Russian Section of the Committee for a Workers' International (Социалистическое Сопротивление)

See also

• Politics of Russia
• List of ruling political parties by country

Further reading

• Gel′man, Vladimir (2013). Party Politics in Russia: From Competition to Hierarchy. Politics In Russia: A Reader. CQ Press. pp. 273–289. 
• Hale, Henry E. (2006). Why Not Parties in Russia?: Democracy, Federalism, and the State. Cambridge University Press. 
• Smyth, Regina (2012). Political parties. Routledge Handbook of Russian Politics and Society. Routledge. pp. 115–128. 
• White, Stephen (2013). Russia's Client Party System. Politics In Russia: A Reader. CQ Press. pp. 306–330. 

References

External links

• Justice Ministry webpage about Russian political parties
• Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation webpage about Russian political parties