ВЫБОР МЕСТА: КАКИЕ ФАКТОРЫ ВЛИЯЮТ НА ОТКРЫТИЕ ОТДЕЛЕНИЙ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИХ ПАРТИЙ В РЕГИОНАХ

Abstract

Regional branches of political parties play an important role in their activities and interaction with voters. In Russia, legislation stipulates that the number of regional branches and the need to have them in at least 50% of the country's regions is one of the institutional conditions for parties to operate. However, not all regions are equally attractive for opening political party branches, according to statistical data on the representat ion of political parties in the regions of the Russian Federation. This study has identified and examined various factors that may determine the attractiveness of regions for opening branches of political parties. The authors assume that the goal of each political party is to maximise its electoral performance. Political parties act as rational actors and use different criteria when deciding where to open branches. The authors concluded that the attractiveness of a region for political party branches in Russia depends on indicators such as the region's population, ethnic composition, results of federal elections in the region, distance of the regional centre from Moscow, and number of seats in the regional legislature. However, the authors of the study suggest that the list of factors could be expanded and improved in the future.