With Duma elections fast approaching, there is plenty of political action at the moment.
Russia’s leading party, United Russia, has suddenly found itself in the midst of a scandal. Various media reports have suggested that the party instructed regional governors to deliver – at all costs – 65 percent of votes in the forthcoming elections.
The Kremlin denied the accusations, pointing out that the OSCE will closely monitor the elections.
United Russia’s main adversary, the Communist Party, has released its election program, titled “Return the Stolen Motherland.”
Domestically, the Communists advocate the nationalization of most industrial sectors, including energy, metallurgy, railways and aviation. Internationally, they plan to enhance the role of the UN and seek the dissolution of NATO.
In the social sphere, the Communist Party intends to introduce a progressive income-tax rate to double the financing of science and research and return to free education and healthcare for all – all sectors which have been decimated under the current government.
Some Liberal Democrats are facing a possible ban because they hold a misprinted passport. Thirteen out of 24 members on the party list may be prevented from registering for the elections because of faulty information in their passports. Among them is reportedly the party’s leader.
The Right Cause party, meanwhile, managed to gather the 150,000 signatures required to get on the ballots. Not yet a parliamentary party, they hope to surpass the 7 percent electoral threshold for claiming seats in the Duma.