European Forum

Other Russia coalition leader Limonov to form new political party

This week on 29 June the leader of the Other Russia coalition, Eduard Limonov, announced he is forming a new party of the same name to run in the 2011 parliamentary elections.

Aleksandr Averin, member of the executive committee of the coalition, said that a founding congress of the new party will be held on 10 July in Moscow. " Here, the participants will adopt a charter and party program, he said. “After the congress, some time must pass. During this time... we will turn in [the registration documents]," Other Russia cofounder and head of the banned National Bolshevik Party Limonov stated.  He added the coalition had enough members to qualify as a party. The law requires a party to have no fewer than 45,000 members. “We are going to demand the abolition of registration for political parties, and also participation in elections for all those who wish to,” Limonov said.

The Other Russia coalition, which no longer exists, was formed by the National Bolshevik Party, outlawed in 2007, former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov's People's Democratic Union and ex-chess champion Garry Kasparov's United Civil Front. Kasyanov pulled out in 2007, while Kasparov created his own opposition Solidarity movement. "In practice, the coalition has fallen apart, and for the past two years has existed on paper or through the work of my followers. Now, a political party of the same name is being formed," Limonov stated. He added that the party will take part in "all possible" elections, aiming primarily at the parliamentary elections that are scheduled for December 2011.

Tough registration process
Different Russian opposition groups recently began making renewed attempts to create officially registered political parties. The Solidarity movement announced in May that it would be creating its own party to operate side-by-side with the movement. The requirement for the federal registration of political parties is widely criticised by Russian opposition groups as a tool used by the government to keep political competition out of the electoral system. Altogether seven parties are officially registered and allowed to participate in elections: the Kremlin-backed United Russia party, the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, Patriots of Russia, Yabloko, A Just Russia, and Right Cause. This is down from 15 parties in 2008, 19 in 2006, and 35 earlier in 2006. The number decreased following changes in federal registration procedures over the course of those years. While some opposition parties are banned outright in Russia, many are simply never able to register. Dmitri Badovsky, Deputy Director of the Institute of Social Systems, says that it is unlikely that unregistered parties will have any success in either the registration process or, theoretically, the actual elections. “For the survival of the political arena, the Kremlin will enable a sharp activation of the small parties that are already registered, most of all Right Cause,” he explained.

Sources: Ria Novosti; The Other Russia; Moscow Times