The Development of the Party System (the July 2001 Party Law)

 

Stated aim	Practical outcome
the development of a viable multi-party system establishing a smaller number of more effective parties	the restrictions on the type of parties allowed the extremely high entry costs the excessive bureaucracy in registration procedures the close management of the election process the sphere of party politics became manageable

 

 

Stated aim

Practical outcome

Civic Chamber, comprised of 126 representatives of civil society, was set up in 2005 to provide a new superstructure for community organizations the organization was given direct access to federal policymakers its brief was to provide expert advice on key state decisions and new legislation of national importance

civil society organizations were often treated with suspicion by the authorities in 2005, stricter regulations of NGOs were introduced NGOs had to re-register with the Ministry of Justice and to provide regular financial reports human rights groups were accused of having links with organized crime and working for "the West's money" the "spy rock" diplomatic scandal (January 2006) between Britain and Russia was used as a justification for tougher regulation of NGOs community activism was faced with a choice: either operating within the framework of the new Civic Chamber, or ceasing their activities

 

 

• by the time Putin left the presidency in 2008 democracy in Russia was far from consolidated
• the diagnosis of its health ranges from “democratic evolution” (optimists) to “failed transition” and “derailed democracy” (pessimists)
• Putin’s personality-led system of governance is unsustainable in the long run
• Medvedev will either have to allow greater political pluralism, or make a radical turn towards overt authoritarianism
• Medvedev’s early rhetoric suggests that he prefers the former path

Sources:

• Afanasiev, Yury (2009) ‘The End of Russia?’ http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/russia-theme/the-end-of-russia (accessed 6 February 2009).

• Hedlund, Stefan (2006) ‘Vladimir the Great, Grand Prince of Muscovy: Resurrecting the Russian Service State’, Europe-Asia Studies, 58:5, 775 – 801.

• Malia, M. (1999) Russia under Western Eyes: From the Bronze Horseman to the Lenin Mausoleum (Cambridge, MA, Belknap).

• Pipes, R. (1974) Russia under the Old Regime (New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons).

• Sakwa, Richard (2008) 'Putin's Leadership: Character and Consequences', Europe-Asia Studies, 60:6, 879 — 897.