This Federal Law regulates public relations arising out of the exercise by citizens of the Russian Federation of the right to form political parties and special features of creation, activity, reorganization and liquidation of political parties in the Russian Federation.

Article 2. Right of the Citizens of the Russian Federation to Form Political Parties

The right of citizens of the Russian Federation to form political parties shall include the right to create, on a voluntary basis, political parties in conformity with the citizens' convictions; the right to join or refrain from joining political parties; the right to participate in the activity of political parties in conformity with their statutes; the right to freely withdraw from political parties.

Article 3. Concept of a Political Party and Its Structure

1. A political party is a public association created for enabling citizens of the Russian Federation to participate in the political life of society by shaping and expressing their political will, to participate in public and political events, in elections, referenda and also for representing the interests of citizens in the bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government.

2. A political party shall meet the following requirements:

- a political party shall have regional branches in more than a half of the subjects of the Russian Federation; only one regional branch of the given political party may be created in any one subject of the Russian Federation;
- a political party shall have not less than ten thousand party members and regional branches, each with not less than one hundred party members, in more than a half of the subjects of the Russian Federation, as provided by Clause 6, Article 23 of this Federal Law. Each one of the other regional branches shall have not less than fifty members of the political party, as provided by Clause 6, Article 23 of this Federal Law;
- the leading and other bodies of a political party, of its regional branches and other structural subdivisions shall be located in the territory of the Russian Federation.

3. In this Federal Law a regional branch of a political party shall mean a structural subdivision of the political party which is created by a decision of its duly authorized leading body and which conducts its activity in the territory of a subject of the Russian Federation. A single regional branch of a political party may be created in a subject of the Russian Federation comprising an autonomous district (autonomous districts). Other structural subdivisions of a political party (local and primary branches) shall be created in the cases and in the procedure established by its statutes.

4. The objectives and goals of a political party shall be set out in its statutes and program.

The main objectives of a political party shall be as follows:

shaping of public opinion;
political instruction and education of citizens;
expression of opinions of citizens on all issues of public life; making the general public and the bodies of state power aware of these opinions;
nomination of candidates at elections to legislative (representative) bodies of state power and representative bodies of local self-government, participation in elections to the said bodies and in their work.

Article 4. Legislation of the Russian Federation On Political Parties

The activity of political parties, based on the Constitution of the Russian Federation, shall be regulated by federal constitutional laws, this Federal Law and other federal laws.

Article 5. Territorial Sphere of Activity of a Political Party

A political party may conduct its activity over the entire territory of the Russian Federation.

Article 6. Name of a Political Party

1. The name of a political party, both full and abbreviated, shall not use the names of other political parties existing in the Russian Federation, other All-Russian public associations and political parties which have ceased their activity because of liquidation in consequence of violation of Clause 1, Article 9 of this Federal Law.

2. The name of a political party shall not use the names of bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government, the first and/or family name of a citizen.

3. Regional branches and other structural subdivisions of a political party shall use the name of the given political party with indication of the territorial location of the branch.

4. A political party may use in its name such words as "Russia," "the Russian Federation" and words and word combinations formed on their basis.

5. The name of a political party shall comply with the requirements of the Russian Federation laws on the protection of intellectual property and/or copyrights. It shall be forbidden for a political party to use a name that offends racial, national or religious feelings.

6. Public associations that are not political parties shall not use the word "party" in their name.

Article 7. Symbols of a Political Party

1. A political party may have its own emblem and other symbols, the exact description of which shall be given in the statutes of the political party. The symbols of a political party shall not coincide with the national symbols of the Russian Federation, national symbols of the subjects of the Russian Federation, symbols of municipalities or national symbols of foreign states.

2. A political party shall not use as its emblem or other symbols the emblems and other symbols of political parties and other All-Russian public associations existing in the Russian Federation, or emblems and other symbols of organizations whose activity is banned in the territory of the Russian Federation.

3. The symbols of a political party shall comply with the requirements of the Russian Federation laws on the protection of intellectual property and/or copyrights. It shall be forbidden to use symbols which insult or denigrate the national flag of the Russian Federation, the national emblem of the Russian Federation, the national anthem of the Russian Federation, flags, emblems, anthems of the subjects of the Russian Federation, municipalities and foreign states, religious symbols and symbols which may offend racial, national or religious feelings.

Article 8. Basic Principles of Activity of Political Parties

1. The activity of political parties shall be based on the principles of voluntary participation, equality, self-governance, legality and openness. Political parties shall be free to determine their internal structure, objectives, forms and methods of their activity, subject to the restrictions established by this Federal Law.

2. The activity of political parties shall not infringe upon the rights and freedoms of a human being and a citizen guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

3. Political parties shall operate openly, the information on their constituent and program documents shall be available to general public.

4. Political parties shall provide for men and women, citizens of the Russian Federation of various nationalities, who are members of a political party, equal opportunities of being represented in the leading bodies of the political party, on the lists of candidates for deputies and for other elective offices in the bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government.

Article 9. Restrictions On the Creation and Activity of Political Parties

1. Creation and activity of political parties shall be prohibited if their objectives or actions aim at a forcible change of the fundamentals of the constitutional system, violation of the integrity of the Russian Federation, undermining of the national security, formation of military and paramilitary units, incitement of racial, national or religious enmity.

2. The inclusion in the statutes and programs of political parties of provisions advocating the ideas of social justice and the activity of political parties aimed at the protection of social justice shall not be regarded as incitement of social enmity.

3. The creation of political parties on a professional, racial, national or religious basis shall not be allowed.

In this Federal Law "professional, racial, national or religious basis" shall mean the proclamation in the statutes and the program of a political party of such objectives as the advocacy of professional, racial, national or religious interests and also the reflection of these objectives in the name of a political party.

A political party shall not consist of persons of one profession.

4. Structural subdivisions of political parties shall be created and shall operate only on a territorial basis. Structural subdivisions of political parties shall not be formed in bodies of state power, bodies of local self-government, in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, law enforcement and other government agencies, in governmental and non-governmental organizations.

5. The activity of political parties and their structural subdivisions shall not be allowed in the bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government (except for legislative (representative) bodies of state power and representative bodies of local self-government), in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, law enforcement and other government agencies, administrative apparatuses of legislative (representative) bodies of state power, in governmental organizations.

Political parties shall not interfere in the educational process at educational establishments.

6. In the territory of the Russian Federation the creation and activity of political parties of foreign states and of their structural subdivisions shall not be allowed.

7. If a state of emergency or marshal law is imposed in the territory of the Russian Federation or its separate areas, the activity of political parties shall be subject to the federal constitutional law on the state of emergency or on marshal law.

Article 10. The State and Political Parties

1. The interference of bodies of state power and their officials in the activity of political parties and the interference of political parties in the activity of bodies of state power and their officials shall not be allowed.

2. Issues affecting the interests of political parties shall be resolved by bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government with the participation of the political parties concerned or by agreement with them.

3. Persons, holding governmental or municipal offices, and persons on the state or municipal service shall not take advantage of the privileges of their official position or status to promote the interests of a political party to which they belong or to promote the interests of any other political party. Such persons, except for deputies of the State Duma, the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, deputies of other legislative (representative) bodies of state power and deputies of representative bodies of local self-government, shall not be bound by the decisions of the political party in the performance of their official duties.

4. The President of the Russian Federation may suspend his membership in a political party during his term of office.

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ПУБЛИКАЦИИ ИРИС

THE MEDIA AND THE 1999 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN RUSSIA

Автор: МФИС-ИРИС
Форма выпуска: Книга

Сборник статей. Издание подготовлено МФИС и ИРИС совместно с Национальным институтом прессы, в сотрудничестве с ЦИК РФ. На английском языке.

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