Parties in Russia: From a pseudo-system towards fragmentation

Abstract:

The key player in the Russian party system is the executive power and the presidential administration. The so-called party of power, United Russia, is its major instrument. Its main function is to guarantee the adoption of the bills initiated by the executive power in the State Duma. United Russia is a quasi-dominant party and cannot control the executive power.

Political parties in the State Duma are not independent political actors. A partial exception is the Communist Party of the Russian Federation – the only opposition party in the federal parliament and the only party having a real party organization in all federation subjects.

The opposition outside the State Duma is still marginal, supported by very few Russians. Oppositional groups offer very different perspectives for Russia’s development. The only thing that unites the opposition is its anti-regime nature: it is against the current political system, the power vertical.

The potential political consequences of the economic crisis or threat thereof (destabilization, divisions in the elite), Medvedev’s declared interest in a certain liberalization of society, and the potentially strengthening political opposition (without representation in the State Duma) all call for changes in the party system.