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Communist Party of the Russian Federation

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Asteriscs (talk | contribs) at 13:24, 18 March 2008 (→Elections: In 1991 there was no CPRF, Ryzhkov was the candidate for the CPSU). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
LeaderGennady Zyuganov
Founded13 February 1993
HeadquartersMoscow
IdeologyCommunism
International affiliationUnion of Communist Parties - Communist Party of the Soviet Union (UCP-CPSU)
Website
www.CPRF.ru

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (Russian: Коммунистическая партия Российской Федерации = КПРФ; translit.: Kommunisticheskaya Partiya Rossiskoy Federatsii — KPRF) is a Russian political party. It is sometimes seen as a successor to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and the Bolshevik Party. The party has emphasised its uniquely Russian character and it has consistently invoked Russian patriotism and nationalism in addition to the official Marxism-Leninism of the CPSU.[1] The party claims membership of 164,546[2] (184,000 in 2006).

Elections

In parliament, after an initial slow start with just 12.4% of vote in the first 1993 parliamentary elections, it grew to 22% in the 1995 parliamentary elections, making it by far the biggest Russian party, raised after that, to 24% in the 1999 elections and then declined dramatically by losing almost half of its votes to 13% in the 2003 parliamentary elections, resulting in 51 out of 450 seats. In the 2007 Russian parliamentary elections the party won 11.6% of the vote, a slight decrease in percentage points, although the election resulted in an increase in the number of votes obtained by the party (more than 8 million votes) and in the number of seats held by the party. The CPRF enjoyed highest support in Tambov Oblast (19.17%), Oryol Oblast (17.58%) and Bryansk Oblast (17.09%). As of 2008 the Communist Party continues to be the second largest party in Russia, as well as the largest opposition party.

In all presidential elections since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Communist candidate came second. In the 1996 elections, candidate Gennady Zyuganov rose to 32% of the votes, just short of Yeltsin's 35%. In the 2000 elections, Zyuganov was the communist candidate, and dropped slightly to 29%, but Vladimir Putin won a landslide victory with 53%. In the last presidential elections, 14 March 2004, Putin's support rose to 71% and the Communist Party's candidate, Nikolay Kharitonov, won only 14%. Taking into consideration the fact that Kharitonov (a leading member of the Agrarian Party of Russia) was considered to be a "token" candidate, this was a better result than expected, showing that the CPRF still has a substantial base of support. In the 2008 elections, CPRF leader Gennady Zyuganov ran again for President arriving second with a surprising 17.8% ( 13,243,550 votes ). Zyuganov even managed to beat United Russia's candidate Dimitry Medvedev in some small villages and towns.

In February 2005 the CPRF managed to beat the ruling Pro-Kremlin party, United Russia, in elections to the regional legislature of Nenets Autonomous Okrug, obtaining 27% of the popular vote.

In the last Moscow Duma election, 4 December 2005, the Party won 16.75 % and 4 seats. This was the best ever result for the CPRF in Moscow. In some observers opinion, the absence of the Rodina party contributed to the Communists' success.

On March 11, 2007, elections took place for 14 regional and local legislatures. The CPRF performed very well and increased its votes in most of the territories; it came second in Oryol Oblast (23.78%), Omsk Oblast (22.58%), Pskov Oblast (19.21%) and Samara Oblast (18.87%), Moscow Oblast (18.80%), Murmansk Oblast (17.51%) and Tomsk Oblast (13.37%), [1]. These results testify that the CPRF is the most significant opposition party in Russia.

On May 21, 2007, the CPRF obtained an important success in the Volgograd's mayoral election. Communist candidate Roman Grebennikov was elected as mayor with 32.47% of the vote. Grebennikov is the youngest mayor of a regional capital.

Party leaders

The CPRF is led by Gennady Zyuganov. Early external collaborators included Eurasianist philosopher Aleksandr Dugin who helped to draft early party documents and pushed the party in the direction of nationalism. During the presidential elections of 1996, the CPRF was supported by prominent intellectual Aleksandr Zinovyev (a former Soviet dissident who became a supporter of Communism at the time of Perestroika). Another prominent supporter of the CPRF is the physicist Zhores Alferov, who received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2000.

A new leftist umbrella movement was formed on the initiative of the CPRF on August 7, 1996. It was called People's Patriotic Union of Russia (NPSR) and consisted of more than 30 leftist and "patriotic" organizations. Gennady Zyuganov was its chairman. He was supported by the party as a candidate for Russia's presidency during the 1996 Presidential elections and 2000 Presidential elections.

Zyuganov called the 2003 elections a 'revolting spectacle' and accuses the Kremlin of setting up a Potemkin party, the Rodina party, to steal its votes.

CPRF's former members include many popular politicians, who seceded after their ambitions on party leading collided with Zyuganov's, who held the stronger support. Gennady Seleznev in 2001, Sergey Glazyev in 2003 and Gennady Semigin in 2004 were the most notable "dissenters".

A minority faction criticised the decision to candidate "millionaires" (such as Sergei Sobko, general director and owner of the TEKHOS company) in the CPRF's lists, which was seen as a contradiction to the Marxist-Leninist and anti-oligarchic policies of the Party.

In July 2004 a breakaway faction elected Vladimir Tikhonov as its leader. The faction later formed the All-Russia Communist Party of the Future. The operation wasn't successful and recently Tikhonov's party has suspended active operations, seeking rapprochement with Zyuganov's side.

Electorate

The CPRF has its stronghold in the rural enclaves of Southern Russia ( the so-called "red belt" ) and in small towns and cities around Moscow.

The Party's electorate is composed mainly by pensioners, industrial workers and peasants of the former Kolkhoz collective farms. The past few years have also seen a growth in its support of the leftist youth groups, such as the Vanguard of Red Youth. A representative of CPRF was present at "the Other Russia" conference of opposition parties in 2006.

Results of the KPRF in the 2007 elections showing the results of 2003 on the left and 2007 on the right.
Murmansk Oblast 7.44 17.47
Komi Republic 8.72 14.23
Vologda Oblast 8.77 13.44
Leningrad Oblast 9.05 17.07
Saint Petersburg 8.48 16.02
Pskov Oblast 15.17 19.41
Moscow Oblast 9.67 18.81
Oryol Oblast 16.28 23.78
Samara Oblast 17.38 18.39
Stavropol Krai 13.70 14.28
Dagestan 18.31 6.64
Omsk Oblast 16.23 22.90
Tyumen Oblast 9.94 8.43
Tomsk Oblast 12.60 13.37

See also

References

  1. ^ NUPI - Centre for Russian Studies
  2. ^ Federal Registration Service of the Russian Federation


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