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The
results of the Kremlin’s efforts to reshape Russia’s
party-parliamentary system have been controversial. On the one hand,
a powerful centrist coalition has been formed designed to dominate
the parliament for a long time and to prevent the left-wing forces
from stalling reform or coming to power. Putin has achieved support
in parliament that Yeltsin could never even dream about. His strong
leadership and the backing of the Duma could create a very real
opportunity for genuine reform in Russia. |
Post-Soviet
Dumas
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First Duma
(1993-95)
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Dominated by authoritarian parties: Communists, the Agrarian
Party, and Zhirinovsky’s LDPR
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Second Duma
(1995-99)
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Communists controlled almost half of all the seats
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Third Duma
(1999-2003) |
Unity and Fatherland—All Russia together with two smaller pro-Kremlin
parliamentary factions were able to garner simple majority,
required to rubberstamp the Kremlin’s legislative
initiatives
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Fourth Duma
(2003-07)
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The
“presidential party,” United Russia, controls 68 percent of
all seats
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On
the other hand, the recent election cycle appears to show that after
a decade of weakly institutionalized multiparty politics, Russia
could be heading “backwards” again toward one-party rule. Minor
parties might continue to exist, but one party – the “party of
power” – looks set to dominate all electoral processes of
consequence.
Copyrighted material
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