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29th Apr '13 1:56:25 PM JIKTV

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14th Mar '13 7:27:49 AM Kozlovsky

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4th Mar '13 2:18:09 PM polymath

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Edited the text to make it easier to read for native English speakers; added information on UR and in the opening.

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-->''Posle perestroiki, budet perestrelka.''
-->''After perestroika, there will be a shoot-out.''
-->--a common quip during the late '80s and early '90s

Life in Russia was [[CrapsackWorld never nice]], and political life is not an exception. The Russian Federation started in what appeared to be a peaceful, bloodless resolution of the ColdWar (only three men perished during the 1991 coup attempt), but two years later, the Russian Constitution of 1993 was written in blood after President Yeltsin ordered tanks to shoot live shells at the unruly parliament (housed in the White House -- not that one -- for bonus irony). Since then, Russia managed to turn even democracy into a dystopia. Granted, Russia didn't arrive at "dystopia" without a considerable amount of [[NiceJobBreakingItHero help from the United States and Europe]], multiple international crises that Russia bore the brunt of but had no control over[[hottip:*:Thailand devaluing the baht during the Asian financial crisis could not have happened at a worse possible time -- for Russia.]], complications from the laws of the International Monetary Fund, and then the infamous "less shock, more therapy" period.[[hottip:*:The line in question was uttered by Strobe Talbott, who worked at the State Department under Clinton and was the face of US-Russian relations. Both he and Russia scholars regard that moment as a deserved "never live it down."]] Historically, Russia has always had an uneasy relationship with democracy, creating a SelfFulfillingProphecy that to be Russian is to suffer and that Russia is doomed to authoritarian rule. As always, [[TakeAThirdOption it's actually much more complicated]], but that's what doctoral programmes are for.

The Russian Federation is a [[ShapedLikeItself federation]] of 83 [[OtherRussianTownsAndCities subjects]] (89 before the mergers of the late 2000s). It is a presidential democratic republic -- even though the suspicious distribution of power between President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin in 2008-2012 made some pundits to believe it's actually semi-presidential, if you look at the Constitution, you'll see it's extremely lopsided in favor of the President.

Russian federalism can be divided into three periods: the first being the Yeltsin era, which was largely defined by chaos, economic destabilization, a prolonged crisis regarding Russian identity (that's still ongoing, albeit at a slightly lower volume), the problem of turning former domestic policy into foreign[[hottip:*:What used to be internal trade within the Soviet Union was now international, thanks to the fifteen [=SSRs=] becoming independent states.]], securing the former Soviet Union's nuclear weapons, and, just for kicks, a civil war. Yeltsin enjoyed a great amount of support from the United States, and [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment while he was instrumental in bringing about the end of the Soviet Union, he was perhaps not well-suited to the presidency]]. VladimirPutin took office in 1999, during one of the most tumultuous periods of Russian history, and while he's the subject of quite a bit of criticism and often portrayed as an autocrat, this view only solidified after the fact. During the first era of his presidency (1999-2006), Putin was credited with centralizing power, which sounds like what he's being accused of doing now but for the fact that in 1999, Russia's federal government was so weak that various regions simply ignored federal law, knowing that Moscow was too weak to enforce it. The third era, or "now," is an open question, and whether or not Russia will move back toward open democracy is unclear.

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* [[TheEmpire United Russia]] - the juggernaught conservative political party that backs the President and PM. Can be best described as a party of [[CorruptPolitician state bureaucrats]] and anyone who wants to get close to them. It's a political machine that hogs votes using aggressive propaganda, underhanded manipulations and administrative resources (that's ordering people how to vote, for those not in the know). The Duma of 2007 was utterly dominated by this party; the Duma of 2011 appears to be less United Russia-dominated, and even that year's electoral results of 2011 (45%) resulted in riots and rallies protesting against United Russia's underhanded tactics.
* [[GoodOldWays Communist Party of Russian Federation]] - supposedly communist, but in fact social-conservative — that is, ''both'' social-democratic and socially conservative. Unlike the communists of USSR, these guys support the church, do not mind businessmen, believe in traditional social mores, do not want to restore USSR, and there are even some monarchists among them! Led by the uncharismatic, [[{{Gonk}} unattractive]] and unambitious Gennady Zyuganov, an eternal presidential candidate. Often accused of closely toeing TheGovernment's line and being opposition InNameOnly.
* [[NonIndicativeName Liberal-Democratic Party of Russia]] is neither liberal nor democratic. It's, in fact, a pseudo-nationalist (mainly because Zhirinovsky is all bark and no bite) party centered about its leader, the famous political clown Vladimir Zhirinovsky, another eternal presidential candidate. This party owes its strange name to the fact it was created in the late 1980s, when "liberal" and "democratic" were buzzwords of instant success. The target of the same accusations as CPRF.
* [[ForGreatJustice A Just Russia]] - a social-democratic party, somewhat of a more liberal and modern rival to CPRF, but less popular. A relatively recent union of three rather different more-or-less leftist parties, some of them decidedly odd (like an ex-Senate speaker Sergey Mironov's Party of Life that tried to tout a ''really weird'' pseudo-environmentalist slogans and selected a ''[[InherentlyFunnyWord vykhukhol]]'', also known as a Russian Desman, a bizarre semi-aquatic insect-eater animal, as their mascot), which nevertheless managed to carve themselves a solid social-democratic reputation and win the hearts of some leftist voters who aren't sufficiently radical for the Left Front and don't want to be associated with CPRF's geezers. ''[[RunningGag Also]]'' accused of being the Kremlin's creation. Members of this party are called ''Esers'', same as members of the historical Socialist Revoltionary Party; this party officially isn't any kind of successor to that one, but it seems that currently it becomes more left-wing and may some day live up to the name and become a SpiritualSuccessor to the historical Esers.

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* [[TheEmpire United Russia]]: The juggernaut conservative political party that backs the President and Prime Minister. Can be best described as a party of [[CorruptPolitician state bureaucrats]] and anyone who wants to get close to them. It's a political machine that hogs votes using aggressive propaganda, underhanded manipulations and administrative resources (that's ordering people how to vote, for those not in the know). The Duma of 2007 was utterly dominated by this party; the Duma of 2011 appears to be less United Russia-dominated, and even that year's electoral results (45%) resulted in riots and rallies protesting against United Russia's underhanded tactics.
** For those in the west, it's best to think of United Russia as a political apparatus that happened to become a long-term political party rather than a party of ideas. United Russia was born from the need to have a designated group backing Putin during his first term. The fact that United Russia happened to cohere, remain a viable force, and develop a platform was something of a happy accident.
* [[GoodOldWays Communist Party of Russian Federation]]: Supposedly communist, but in fact social-conservative — that is, ''both'' social-democratic and socially conservative. Unlike the communists of USSR, these guys support the church, do not mind businessmen, believe in traditional social mores, do not want to restore USSR, and there are [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits even some monarchists among them]]! Led by the uncharismatic, [[{{Gonk}} unattractive]] and unambitious Gennady Zyuganov, an eternal presidential candidate. Often accused of closely toeing TheGovernment's line and being opposition InNameOnly.
* [[NonIndicativeName Liberal-Democratic Party of Russia]]: Neither liberal nor democratic, it's, in fact, a pseudo-nationalist (mainly because Zhirinovsky is all bark and no bite) party centered around its leader, the famous political clown Vladimir Zhirinovsky, another eternal presidential candidate. This party owes its strange name to the fact it was created in the late 1980s, when "liberal" and "democratic" were buzzwords of instant success. The target of the same accusations as CPRF. The United States considered Zhirinovsky a legitimate threat to Yeltsin in the mid-90s. He's also done some xenophobic raps.
* [[ForGreatJustice A Just Russia]]: A social-democratic party, somewhat of a more liberal and modern rival to CPRF, but less popular. A relatively recent union of three rather different more-or-less leftist parties, some of them decidedly odd (like an ex-Senate speaker Sergey Mironov's Party of Life that tried to tout a ''really weird'' pseudo-environmentalist slogans and selected a ''[[InherentlyFunnyWord vykhukhol]]'', also known as a Russian Desman, a bizarre semi-aquatic insect-eater animal, as their mascot), which nevertheless managed to carve themselves a solid social-democratic reputation and win the hearts of some leftist voters who aren't sufficiently radical for the Left Front and don't want to be associated with CPRF's geezers. ''[[RunningGag Also]]'' accused of being the Kremlin's creation. Members of this party are called ''Esers'', same as members of the historical Socialist Revoltionary Party; this party officially isn't any kind of successor to that one, but it seems that currently it's becoming more left-wing and may some day live up to the name and become a SpiritualSuccessor to the historical Esers.

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* Right Cause - an old-school liberal party. In their goals, mind you, their methods, which include slander, boycotting and an undeniably classist approach, are surprisingly Bolshevik. Liberalism is somewhat TheScrappy of ideologies in Russia because of the liberals' infamous reforms of 1990s which spawned a lot of {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s and a hell of starving poor people, which is why they consistently fail to win enough votes to get into parliament. Their [[WeAreStrugglingTogether constant internal squabbles]] don't help either. As is the liberals' reputation as unabashed Western lickspitties, which alienates ''a lot'' of the [[PatrioticFervor more patriotic voters]]. It is sometimes said that if Russian Liberals existed in the US, they'd be tarred and feathered ''in seconds'' for their disloyalty to the nation. 
* Apple Party (Yabloko) - another liberal party, offering more socialized liberalism akin to what the Democratic party of America believes in. Popular among the educated, cosmopolitan middle class of the big cities, but these represent a too small percentage of the population for the party to have any real influence, and it constantly teeters on the representation barrier, sometimes making it, and sometimes not.
* [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment Patriots of Russia]] - a social-democratic party that popped out of nowhere before the 2011 elections, got almost no votes and then sunk back into oblivion. [[OverlyLongGag Called a Kremlin's political tool]] by many analysts.
* [[EnemyMine Another Russia]] - an outlawed party formed from a strange alliance of old-school liberals and CommieNazis (no, really), united by a common desire to overthrow the dictate of United Russia.
* [[DirtyCommies Left Front]] - looks like the Bolsheviks are [[NotQuiteDead back]]! Actual communists who want to restore Soviet Russia. Also an outlawed party.

Recently, a law passed the Federal Asembly which allows easier procedures for party creation. Expecting more unusual dwarf parties, keep watching this article!

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* Right Cause: An old-school liberal party. In their goals, mind you, as their methods, which included slander, boycotting and an undeniably classist approach, were surprisingly Bolshevik. Liberalism is somewhat TheScrappy of ideologies in Russia because of the liberals' infamous reforms of 1990s which spawned a lot of {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s and a hell of starving poor people, which is why they consistently fail to win enough votes to get into parliament. Their [[WeAreStrugglingTogether constant internal squabbles]] don't help either. As is the liberals' reputation as unabashed Western lickspitties, which alienates ''a lot'' of the [[PatrioticFervor more patriotic voters]]. It is sometimes said that if Russian Liberals existed in the US, they'd be tarred and feathered ''in seconds'' for their disloyalty to the nation. 
* Apple Party (Yabloko): Another liberal party, offering more socialized liberalism akin to what the Democratic party of America believes in. Popular among the educated, cosmopolitan middle class of the big cities, but without support from other voters, the party's numbers are too low for it to maintain real influence. It constantly teeters on the representation barrier, sometimes making it, and sometimes not.
* [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment Patriots of Russia]]: A social-democratic party that popped out of nowhere before the 2011 elections, got almost no votes, and then sunk back into oblivion. [[OverlyLongGag Accused of being the Kremlin's political tool]] by many analysts.
* [[EnemyMine Another Russia]]: An outlawed party formed from a strange alliance of old-school liberals and CommieNazis ([[SincerityMode no, really]]), united by a common desire to overthrow the dictatorship of United Russia.
* [[DirtyCommies Left Front]]: Looks like the Bolsheviks are [[NotQuiteDead back]]! The Left Front contained ''actual'' communists who wanted to restore Soviet Russia. Now an outlawed party.

Recently, the Federal Assembly passed legislation that creates easier procedures for party formation. Prepare for an abundance of odd, misguided, and incorrectly-named dwarf parties!

28th Jan '13 7:53:47 AM aurora369

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1st Jul '12 11:53:50 PM aurora369

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1st Jul '12 11:53:04 PM aurora369

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18th May '12 4:54:52 PM GrandPrincePaulII

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* [[ForGreatJustice A Just Russia]] - a social-democratic party, somewhat of a more liberal and modern rival to CPRF, but less popular. A relatively recent union of three rather different more-or-less leftist parties, some of them decidedly odd (like an ex-Senate speaker Sergey Mironov's Party of Life that tried to tout a ''really weird'' pseudo-environmentalist slogans and selected a ''[[InherentlyFunnyWord vykhukhol]] '', also known as a Russian Desman, a bizarre semi-aquatic insect-eater animal, as their mascot), which nevertheless managed to carve themselves a solid social-democratic reputation and win the hearts of some leftist voters who aren't sufficiently radical for the Left Front and don't want to be associated with CPRF's geezers. ''[[RunningGag Also]]'' accused of being the Kremlin's creation. Members of this party are called ''Esers'', same as members of the historical Socialist Revoltionary Party; this party officially isn't any kind of successor to that one, but it seems that currently it becomes more left-wing and may some day live up to the name and become a SpiritualSuccessor to the historical Esers.

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* [[ForGreatJustice A Just Russia]] - a social-democratic party, somewhat of a more liberal and modern rival to CPRF, but less popular. A relatively recent union of three rather different more-or-less leftist parties, some of them decidedly odd (like an ex-Senate speaker Sergey Mironov's Party of Life that tried to tout a ''really weird'' pseudo-environmentalist slogans and selected a ''[[InherentlyFunnyWord vykhukhol]]'', also known as a Russian Desman, a bizarre semi-aquatic insect-eater animal, as their mascot), which nevertheless managed to carve themselves a solid social-democratic reputation and win the hearts of some leftist voters who aren't sufficiently radical for the Left Front and don't want to be associated with CPRF's geezers. ''[[RunningGag Also]]'' accused of being the Kremlin's creation. Members of this party are called ''Esers'', same as members of the historical Socialist Revoltionary Party; this party officially isn't any kind of successor to that one, but it seems that currently it becomes more left-wing and may some day live up to the name and become a SpiritualSuccessor to the historical Esers.

18th May '12 4:43:53 PM GrandPrincePaulII

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27th Apr '12 11:11:31 PM aurora369

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8th Apr '12 12:39:05 PM aurora369

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