What is the name of the political party? This question is asked not only by novice politicians, but by everyone who is interested in public life and dreams of someday getting into the highest echelons of power. This question seems superficial only at first glance, but in fact, not every politician can give an answer to it. However, the list of political parties in Russia shows that originality in this matter is not at all important - the main thing is that the name be capacious and reflect the ideological platform of the organization.
Who's who in Russian politics
The Russian Federation has a multi-party system. As of 2018, six parties have members in the federal parliament, the State Duma, with one dominant party (United Russia).
Many are interested in the question of how many political parties there are in Russia at the moment. But the fact is that their number is constantly changing. After the reforms of Perestroika in the 1980s in Russiathere were more than 100 registered parties, but the deputies elected to the State Duma represented only a small number of them. After 2000, during Vladimir Putin's first presidency (2000-2008), the number of parties declined rapidly. From 2008 to 2012, there were only seven parties in Russia, and every new attempt to register new independent parties was blocked by the Central Election Commission. The last registered party of this period was the Right Cause opposition organization (registered on February 18, 2009, now the Party of Growth). Prior to the 2011 parliamentary elections, about 10 opposition parties were deregistered. However, following a series of mass protests and a 2011 European Court ruling in the Republican Party of Russia case, the law changed and the number of registered parties increased to 67 as of February 2018.
"Parties in power" in Russia
In Russian politics, the "party of power" is a specially created party that unconditionally supports the current president or prime minister in parliament.
At different times, the following organizations were considered "parties in power":
- "Democratic Russia" (1990-1993).
- "Choice of Russia" (1993-1995) and "Party of Unity and Consent of Russia" headed by Sergei Shakhrai.
- "Our home is Russia" (1995-1999).
- "Ivan Rybkin Bloc" (viewed as a potential left-wing "party of power" during the 1995 Russian legislative electionsyear).
- "Unity" (1999-2001 / 2003).
- "Fair Russia" (2006-2008/2010, the second "party of power", supporting Vladimir Putin, but opposed to "United Russia").
- United Russia (from 2001 to present).
Current composition of the State Duma
The following parties sit in the current Russian State Duma (number of seats in brackets):
- "United Russia" (336).
- KPRF (42).
- LDPR (39).
- "Fair Russia" (23).
Growth Party
After the failure of the economic reforms of the 90s, liberal ideas are not very popular in Russia. Nevertheless, the "Party of Growth" is their desperate and staunch champion, and the leader of this party, Boris Titov, even took part in the previous presidential elections. It is the successor to Right Cause, the party of the late opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. For some time it claimed the title of the classical party "against all".
Just Cause was founded in November 2008 as a result of the merger of three organizations: the Union of Right Forces (SPS), the Civil Initiative and the Democratic Party of Russia. "SPS" and "Civil Initiative" were considered liberal parties, supported free market reforms, protection of private property and decentralization of power. Democratic Party alsosupported liberal values, but her agenda was more conservative and nationalist.
By 2008, all three parties were in decline. While SPS achieved 8.7% of the vote in the 1999 Duma elections, it received only 0.96% in the 2007 elections. Support for the Democratic Party (0.13%) and the Civil Initiative (1.05%) in the 2007 elections was also low. SPS, which criticized Vladimir Putin and United Russia in its 2007 election campaign, is losing voters because Putin has implemented many of the market reforms advocated by SPS, and because its sponsors have begun to turn away from the party. With support and votes cast for United Russia falling, the three parties, among other things, considered the option of a merger. The decision to start the merger was made in October 2008, and in November it was completed. A new party called Right Cause was officially registered on February 18, 2009. The creation of the party was supported by Dmitry Medvedev's presidential administration.
The merger was backed by SPS founder and former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, and his colleague, SPS second co-chairman Anatoly Chubais, the well-known architect of Russia's privatization program, expressed strong support for the merger, stating that the political a party is the force that participates in elections with a chance of winning.” The name of a political party has changed more than once beforebecame what we know it now.
Now the party positions itself as an organization that supports entrepreneurs, acts in favor of free market reforms, privatization and protection of the interests of the middle class. The party supports "wide application of the electoral principle", including the direct election of mayors and a gradual return to the election of regional governors. She also supports lowering the threshold for State Duma elections from 7% to 5% (the threshold was lowered in 2011). The party platform requires more control over the legislative branch of the executive, openness and transparency of government, and freedom of information. In the economy, the party supports a model called "Capitalism for All", which emphasizes the development of domestic demand as the main prerequisite for economic diversification, modernization and growth of domestic production. The main stimulus for the economy should not be cheap labor, but a high level of income.
According to 2008 research by Colton, Hale and McFaul, the main political positions reflected in the party program are liberal economy, Westernism and democracy.
Other little-known parties
In Russia, there are other not too well-known, but relatively influential parties with their already established electorate. One of them is Russia of the Future, formerly known as the People's Alliance political party, and even earlier as the Progress Party. It was founded by a Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption by Alexei Navalny on May 19, 2018. She never got registered.
"Russia of the Future" opposes Russian President Vladimir Putin and the ruling United Russia party and is essentially a "party against everyone" calling for a reboot of the entire current political system. According to Lyubvi Sobol, Navalny's ally, the party's goals include "real change, real reform, including strengthening property protection, a fair criminal justice system, and fighting corruption so that money from the budget does not flow offshore and is not spent on yachts and palaces.". The constituent meeting of the party was attended by 124 delegates from 60 regions of Russia. In essence, it is a typical party of free citizens with different political views, united only by a common dissatisfaction with the current Russian government. The party has a seven-member central committee, but no single chairman.
It is also worth noting the For Justice party, the main competitor of A Just Russia in the struggle for the moderate-left electorate.
Several parties with really original names
Russian politics cannot boast of interesting parties, unlike many other countries. Abroad there are real eccentrics and originals, whose comical activities do not at all prevent them from participating in serious political procedures. When they came up with their partyplatforms, they used creativity to the maximum. From beer drinkers to zombie enthusiasts, these parties (many of which, alas, have already disappeared) have made the history of world parliamentarianism, diluting the dreary election landscape with their flamboyance and sense of humor.
Polish Beer Lovers Party
Armed with a ridiculous name and a fondness for beer, the party made itself known in Polish politics in 1991, winning 16 seats in the Sejm, Poland's lower house of parliament, in the first elections after decades of communist rule. The party split into two factions, Big Beer and Small Beer, although its founder, satirist Janusz Rewinski, adhered to the principle: "Beer is neither light nor dark, it is tasty."
Danish Party of "Conscientious people who are embarrassed to work"
Danish comedian Jakob Hagaard started the party in 1979 as a joke, but in 1994 something really funny happened: he took a seat in the national parliament (Folketing, Denmark). Despite promises in pursuit of a copycat platform that included better weather, a tail on all bike lanes and more renaissance furniture in IKEA stores - Hagaard took his four-year term seriously, as he usually decided votes in a divided parliament.
Canadian Rhino Party
Party organizers named themselves after a rhinoceros in the 1960s, as rhinos, like politicians, are "thick-skinned, slow and not too bright, but can quicklymove and dodge skillfully when in danger." They were inspired by the Brazilian "rhinoceros" Kakareko, who in 1958 made a stunning victory in local elections, getting into the municipal council of São Paulo. After several years in the political arena, the Rhinos re-entered the political jungle in 2007 under the chairmanship of Brian Salmi, an eccentric character who officially changed his name to "Satan".
German Pogo Anarchist Party
Two punks from Hannover decided that Germany in the 80s lacked political parties named after hardcore dances (Pogo is sort of a distant relative of mosh and slam). Thus, they formed the "Anarchist Pogo Party", whose motto was the iconic phrase: "Saufen! Saufen! Jeden Tag nur saufen" or "Drink, drink, just drink every day", which perfectly described the everyday life of punks and anarchists. The goals included the expulsion of police officers from Germany, a youth pension instead of an old-age pension, and "Totale Rückverdummung" or, in Russian, Germany's "complete raskolbas".
British Dungeons, Death and Tax Party
The name of the party (its registered address is a popular tourist spot in the London Underground) is as ferocious as it first appears. The party's manifesto includes a commitment to invade and annex France, raise tax rates to 90 percent, reintroduce hanging, but "only for pettyoffenses such as painting graffiti and throwing rubbish on the street.” If the "Dungeons, Death and Taxes" party comes to power, major crimes such as murder and "misuse of mobile texts" will be punished with life imprisonment.
Hungarian Party "Two-Tailed Dog"
The phrase "Free beer and world peace" would be a great slogan for this party, if it even had a slogan. The logo perfectly reflects the name of the political party, as it is (what a surprise!) A two-tailed dog drawn in a cartoon style. Her program included very useful and realistic promises, such as two sunsets in one day (so that there was something to admire), the construction of a spaceport in the middle of the Great Hungarian Plains, and flooding the main roads of Budapest with selected beer, but only on holidays.
