Political Parties on the Eve of the Parliamentary Elections - 2021: Starting Positions and Electoral Prospects

Abstract

The article provides an analysis of the starting positions and electoral prospects of political parties on the eve of the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the 8th Convocation, which becomes especially relevant in the context of the emergence of new political forces among the participants in the election campaign. The author investigated current trends in the development of Russian parliamentary and non-parliamentary parties, relying on the methods of observation, analysis, and forecasting, data from sociological research and electoral statistics. He also assumed the possible configuration of the deputy corps of the lower house of parliament of the 8th Convocation and predicted possible ways of forming a parliamentary majority. As a result of the study, the leitmotifs of the upcoming campaign are determined, which significantly impact the evolution of the party system in Russia in the foreseeable future. The author has concluded the probable shift of the centre of the pre-election struggle to single-mandate constituencies. The perspectives of the promotion of recognizable media persons by parties as candidates in the elections are noted, which, in general, corresponds to the objectively expressed tendency to show the electoral process.