The Potential of the Main Political Parties in Contemporary Russia

The object of the research is the modern party system in Russia. The aim of the article is to study the organizational, financial, and political potential of the main parliamentary political parties: Edinaya Rossiya (United Russia (UR)), CPRF, LDPR, and Spravedlivaya Rossiya (A Just Russia). The comparative analysis of party resources revealed a significant disparity between the potential of UR and the opposition parties. The latter are inferior to the UR in terms of the number of members and the development of the organizational structure. The total number of members and local organizations of these parties is one-third of UR's indicators. The lack of a developed infrastructure for the opposition parties preserves their limited representation and influence at the local level of public power. The financial potential of the parties is formed mainly by state funding and donations from sponsors. Today, four parliamentary parties are eligible for state support. The share of public finance in their budgets is more than half of all revenues. They also receive the bulk of donations, the size of which is limited by law and is official in nature. It can be argued that Russia has formed a mechanism that allows the state to support parties without allowing the establishment of monopoly influence on their activities by individuals and elite groups. The political potential of the parties is determined by the level of their representation in state and local government bodies. Today it is dominated by UR. Its parliamentary fractions actually control the legislative branch of power at the federal and regional levels. Together with the presidential structures of power, UR also ensures the election of presidential creatures to the posts of heads of regions. Party members today form the basis of the governor's corps, with a single representation from other political parties. UR's organizations include more than half of deputies and heads of municipalities, ensuring its influence on the local government system. The high level of dominance of UR and the limited potential of the opposition parties is an important condition for the stability of the existing political regime. UR's significant opportunities allow the ruling elite to maintain and strengthen their positions: cut off the forces of the radical opposition from power, control the legislative process providing legal support for decisions of the government and the head of state, consolidate the federal and regional elite, ensuring the rotation of elites and coordination of their interests. In these circumstances, the parties of the parliamentary opposition are important for preserving the democratic nature of the political process. They do not question the dominant role of UR, offer limited competition to it, and do not have the potential to really influence key political decisions.

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