Management on affairs of political parties of registration of public, religious and other organizations of Federal registration service has finished examination of political parties in Russia on the matter of observance of the federal legislation. The quantity of parties in the Russian Federation will be 2 times decreased, only 19 parties out of 35 "legal" parties have been recognized as corresponding to the current legislation. Serious infringements, "incompatible with life" have been revealed in 16 of them.
Basic claims of FRS were related to the quantity of members of a party. Under the law in a party should consist not less than of 50 thousand people, thus more than in half subjects of the Russian Federation regional branches should count 500 members. These conditions are draconian and, in essence, excessive. In reality completely correspond to these parameters could such parties as "Edinaya Russia" and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. All other political space is "a zone of arbitrariness" from the part of authority.
As it is known, after acceptance of new edition of the Law "About Parties" there were no new parties registered and it is possible to tell with confidence that there won’t be till 2008. Moreover, deducing of parties from legal policy bears "target” character, those structures that can be dangerous to authority during elective cycle of 2007-08 are being eliminated. Among the parties which received refusal in registration found themselves: "Republican Party" (totally 39970 members), Euroasian Union (4648 members), Social Democratic Party (52303 meembers, but only in 37 subjects of the Russian Federation the quantity of their divisions exceeds 500 people).
There are before our eyes 2 more "problem" parties - RPP and "Rodina" are leaving the number of legal parties. After "unifying congress" they will merge in uniform party under a new brand: "Fair Russia-RPZh».
At the present moment there are 19 parties in the state registry: "Edinaya Russia", the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, LDPR, "Rodina", "Yabloko", Union of Right Forces, Russian Party of Life, Russian Party of Pensioners, Agrarian Party of Russia, National Party, "National Will", Party of Peace and Unity, Democratic party, "Patriots of Russia", "Revival of Russia", "Free Russia", Party of Social Justice, Socialist Uniform Party of Russia, Ecological Party "Green". Out of them only two are really oppositional - the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and “Yabloko”.
