Political Parties in the Russian Regions (Basees Curzon Series on Russian & East European Studies)

since The Break-up Of The Soviet Union In 1991, Russia's Party System Has Suffered A Difficult And Turbulent Infancy. Moscow Based Parties Have Had Only Very Limited Territorial Penetration, And Fragmentation Has Been One Of Its Most Significant Features. based On Extensive Fieldwork In Three Russian Regions, This Book Examines The Development Of The Country's Party System And The Role Played By Parties In Regional Politics. Using A Comparative Approach, It Scrutinises The Internal Structures And Activities Of The Parties, Looks At Their Decision-making Processes, Their Everyday Party Life, The Activities Of Party Members, And The Role Of Regional Party Organisations In Federal And Local Election Campaigns. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia's party system has suffered a difficult and turbulent infancy. Moscow based parties have had only very limited territorial penetration, and fragmentation has been one of its most significant features.
Based on extensive fieldwork in three Russian regions, this book examines the development of the country's party system and the role played by parties in regional politics. Using a comparative approach, it scrutinises the internal structures and activities of the parties, looks at their decision-making processes, their everyday party life, the activities of party members, and the role of regional party organisations in federal and local election campaigns. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 1 Introduction......Page 14 2 Political parties in Russia: the federal level......Page 23 3 Politics and parties in the regions......Page 47 4 Party organizations: federal, regional, local......Page 68 5 The membership......Page 98 6 Parties and elections in the middle Volga......Page 120 7 Russian party development in perspective......Page 144 Notes......Page 156 Bibliography......Page 183 Index......Page 207 This book, based on extensive original research in a range of Russian provinces, examines political parties in the new Russia, exploring in particular how party activism on the ground actually works in practice