In accordance with the federal law “On Political Parties, ” which came into effect on July 14, 2001, an organization that consistently takes part in elections, had a membership of at least 10,000 and branches in at least 50 regions, with each branch having a membership of at least 100, was considered to be a party. The law “On Public Associations” (March 15, 2002) states that a mass public association that consists only of unofficial participants, rather than officially listed members, and pursues social and political aims, is a public movement. A public association may take part in elections to the State Duma and local government if said participation is formalized in its rules.

An updated version of this law "On Political Parties & Movements"  now requires that each political party should have minimum 50.000 members by 01.01.2006 and more than 45 regional branches with a minimum membership of 500 each. (Federal Law No175-FZ "On the Election of Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation", adopted by the State Duma on November 20, 2002 and approved by the Federation Council on December 11, 2002 is available here).

As of February 2004, the Russian Ministry of Justice registered 48 political parties and 20 all–Russian public movements.  44 parties and 20 public movements had the right to take part in the campaign for election to the fourth State Duma held on December 7, 2003, although not all participated.  12 parties and several movements united into five election blocs.  23 parties and blocs (18 parties, 5 blocs) took part in the 2003 election campaign.

Based on the requirements under the amended law only 17 parties have received confirmation that they can participate in the elections of 2007. These are:

1. United Russia,
2. The Communist Party of Russia,
3. The Liberal and Democratic Party of Russia,
4. Just Russia (Rodina Party/Party of Pensioners/Party of Life),
5. The Union of Right Forces (liberal-right),
6. The Yabloko Party (liberal-left),
7. The Russian Party of Patriots (patriotic-left),
8. The Party of Peace and Harmony (patriotic-left),
9. The People’s Party of Russia (left),
10. The Agrarian Party (left),
11. The Party of Social Justice (left),
12. The United Socialist Party of Russia (left),
13. The Party of Revival of Russia (left),
14. The Green Party (ecological),
15. The Democratic Party (right),
16. “Free Russia” Party (liberal-right),
17. “The People’s Will” Party (conservative-clerical).

The results of the 2003 Duma elections have been useful in determining which parties are still considered players on Russia's political scene.
The parties that passed the 5% threshold required to form a faction in the Duma were:
United Russia (37.5%)
Communist Party of the Russian Federation (12.6%)
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (11.45%)
Rodina (9%)

Parties that did not reach the 5% threshold but still considered influential are:
Yabloko (4.3%)
Union of Right Forces (3.97%)
Agrarian (3.7%)

Other parties and electoral blocs received less than 1 percent of the vote, while the Social Democratic Party of Russia did not participate in the elections. 4.70 percent voted against all lists.

The latest regional elections, held on 8 October 2006 in 9 Russian regions, produced the following results:
- United Russia, 46.8% (participated in 9 elections and won in 9 regions)
- Communist Party of Russia, 12.6% (participated in 9 elections and won in 8 regions)
The following three parties now comprise the "Just Russia" opposition party ( see below)
- The Party of Life 12,2% (participated in 8 elections and won in 4 regions)
- The Russian Party of Pensioners 11,7% (participated in 6 elections and won in 6 regions)
- Rodina 5,4% (participated in 7 elections and won in 1 region)
- Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 6,1% (participated in 8 elections and won in 3 regions)
- The Russian Party of Patriots 2,3% (participated in 8 elections, but did not win)
- Yabloko 2,1% (participated in 2 elections, but did not win)
- The Party of People’s Will 0,9% (participated in 9 elections, but did not win)

As of November 2006 the State Duma has five factions: United Russia 310 seats (68,89%), Communist Party of Russia 46 seats (10,22%), Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 35 seats (7,78%), Rodina-1 (Rodina Party led by A. Babakov) 29 seats (6,44%), Rodina-2 (“The People Will” Party – led by S. Baburin and “The united Socialist Party of Russia” led by V. Shestakov) 12 seats (2,67%).

History of Political Parties in Russia

In the Soviet Union the one-party system was enshrined in the constitution, which declared the Communist Party of the Soviet Union “the nutshell of the political system of the country.”  Attempts to create the first non-communist parties date back to 1988 (e.g. the Democratic Union of Valeria Novodvorskaya, the National-Patriotic Front Pamyat). But the first officially registered non-communist party was Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s Liberal-Democratic party of the Soviet Union, officially established in 1989. 

In the early 1990s many parties were established, but only the Communist party of the Russian Federation (KPRF), established in 1992, had a stable and wide grassroots structure as well as millions of members. During the 1990s and until now the KPRF was kept in check by the so-called parties of power. Unlike the KPRF, which was founded by former CPSU officials who were unwilling to adapt to the market economy and capitalized on the population’s discontent, these parties represented those members of the old elite who found their place in the new society and their rich and successful friends in the business and government structures.  The first parties of power were political movements, not official political parties. In the early nineties it was the anti-communist Choice of Russia movement, headed by former liberal prime minister Yegor Gaidar. Then in 1995 the elite opted for a less liberal and less market-oriented movement in Our Home Is Russia, headed by the then prime-minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. In 1999, after Chernomyrdin’s resignation, Our Home Is Russia was replaced by Unity (Yedinstvo), a movement which defeated Vladimir Putin’s opponents in the parliamentary elections of December 1999 and helped Putin to the presidency in March 2000.  From 2000 to 2003, Unity merged with other pro-government political groupings and became the political party United Russia (Yedinaya Rossiya).  It won the parliamentary elections of December 2003 with 36 per cent of the vote and is currently in complete control of the Duma.

The liberal parties established in the 1990s are now going through a period of crisis. The Yabloko party, established in 1993 and since then synonymous in the public’s mind with its leader Grigory Yavlinsky, consistently garnered from 5 to 7 per cent of the vote during the 1990s, criticizing the government and suggesting a “milder” version of economic reforms. But in December 2003 Yabloko received less than 5 per cent of the vote, and for the first time since 1993 was unable to form a faction in the Duma.  The Union of Right Forces (SPS) grew from the Democratic Choice of Russia, the political movement headed by Yegor Gaidar. The fact that the Democratic Choice of Russia was an offspring of the former “party of power” Choice of Russia pre-determined its close ties to government officials and big business.  SPS also received less than 5 per cent of the vote in the last elections. Two of its three leaders, Irina Khakamada and Boris Nemtsov, left the party and SPS’s leadership now only has one nationally known politician in its ranks, Anatoly Chubais, the former privatization minister and the head of Russia’s energy monopoly RAO UES. 

The Rodina party, headed by Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Dmitry Rogozin and now part of Just Russia (see below), was an offshoot of the nationalist bloc of the same name, which did surprisingly well in the December 2003 Duma elections, receiving 9 percent of the vote.  Soon after that victory, the bloc split into two factions, one headed by Rogozin, the other by nationalist economist Sergei Glazyev.  The latter made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency, losing to Vladimir Putin in the March 2004 presidential elections.  Following prolonged disagreement, Rogozin wrested the Rodina brand name from Glazyev, who founded a new movement -- "For Dignified Life."   

Just Russia

In November 2006, three parties — the Party of Life, the Party of Pensioners and Rodina — endorsed a decision to merge into a united party organization that will be called Russia of Justice: Fatherland, Pensioners, Life, commonly known as "Just Russia". The merger had been pre-approved by President Putin, and creates the most significant oposition block to United Russia. Chairman of the Council of Federation and Chairman of the Russian Party of Life Sergei Mironov was elected Chairman. Former Rodina Chairman, Alexander Babakov was elected Secretary of the new party’s Central Council Presidium. Igor Zotov, the former leader of the Party of Pensioners was elected Secretary of the Central Council.

The merger of the nationalist, social democratic and pensioners advocacy groups creates a left-of-center political organiztion with some 500,000 members nationally, which wil hope to marginalize the Communist Party and the Liberal Democratic Party. While it wishes to challenge United Russia, particularly on the basis of political pluralism and political opposition, Just Russia also strongly supports President Vladimir Putin and has been criticized as being an opposition party in name only.

Equal Participation?

Twelve women were elected from the United Russia list, four from Motherland, three from the Communists and two from Liberal Democratic Party. Twenty women were elected in single mandate district races, including: 10 from United Russia (out of 104); two from the Communists (out of 12); one from the Party of Russia’s Rebirth/Party of Life bloc (out of three), one for Yabloko (out of four), one for Development of Entrepreneurship (their only seat) and five self-nominated. The number of women represented in the Duma now accounts for 9 percent of the total composition, a marginal increase from the 8 percent in the previous Duma.

Women are generally better represented in local government in the Russian Federation, and some subject councils have a majority of women members. A presidential decree on 30 June 1996, recommended that the presidential administration introduce a minimum quota for women, as well as create a system of female cadre training but the initiative was not acted upon. This was not only because male officials resisted it, but also because the idea of quotas for women--as well as special parties for females--had little appeal for women themselves. Among women's public associations, the most influential to date is the Union of Soldiers' Mothers, which has achieved a high political profile in addressing problems related to the army and its operations in Chechnya.

Related articles:
Too Many Parties, Dmitry Babich, Russia Profile (Oct 17th 2006)
Who Will Be the Opposition?  Russia Profile  (Jan. 17, 2005)
Is there a future for Russian liberalism?  RIA Novosti (Dec. 16, 2004)
Liberals and Communists Join Forces  RIA Novosti  (Nov. 11, 2004)
Russia's Democratic Movement:  Guilt by Association  --  Comment by Irina Khakamada  Perspective (Nov. 11, 2004)
In Favor of Opposition -- Opinion Polls Indicate Russians Do Want a Strong Opposition  Izvestia  CDI summary (Nov. 9, 2004)
From Party Dissolution to Party Building  RIA Novosti (Oct. 19, 2004)
Russia's Defeated Liberals  Radio Free Europe (June 24, 2004)