Political Parties in Russia - History

History

After the dissolution of the Supreme Soviet, and the adoption of the new constitution in October 1993, the first multiparty elections took place in the Russian Federation in December 1993. Numerous political parties and movements were set up during the early days of the new Russian state. There were, however, a number of difficulties for parties that greatly hindered them in reaching the voters. Lack of money was one large problem, but also the widespread negative association towards parties by the public.

Political parties were associated by many with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and its totalitarian methods. The result was that parties and political organisations were concentrated on individuals with a personal following. Some observers have noted that political entrepreneurs tend to see parties merely as instrumental and therefore invest very little in strengthening party organisations, but instead rely on their own informal network.

Until the beginning of the 2000s Russia’s political parties were very fractured and institutionalised. In particular the frequent change of party labels and the merging of various parties into wider platforms reduced the clarity of party ideology. As a consequence, parties failed to aggregate social interests, represent specific constituencies, structure votes during elections, or serve as intermediaries between state and society. After the 2003 parliamentary elections it became evident that party competition would for the next elections concentrate on two parties, United Russia and the Communist Party. Research has also made clear that contrary to the 1990s, voters no longer choose parties based solely on the personalities of party leaders. Rather voters are choosing parties based on assessments of economic performance and a general evaluation of the incumbent president.