Russian Political System Research Articles

Źródła prawa Prezydenta Federacji Rosyjskiej i federalnych organów władzy wykonawczej

The subject of the article is the legal acts of the President of the Russian Federation and the federal executive bodies: ministries, services, agencies and state corporations. The article uses the dogmatic-descriptive method and the comparative method. The subject of the analysis are both constitutional sources and sources not mentioned in the Basic Law, including in particular the multifunctional act called in Russian prikaz. The main research objective is to determine the normative nature of individual sources of law in the context of the political position of the President and federal executive bodies in the Russian political system. The article also calls for a change in the established translation of the act called rasporyazheniye in Russian from “regulation” to “order”.

Выборы в региональные парламенты России на примере Государственного Собрания (Ил Тумэн) Республики Саха (Якутия)

The article analyzes the tendencies of elections to the regional parliaments of Russia on the example of the State Assembly (Il Tumen) of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Local parliaments are called upon to fulfill the function of separating the legislative and executive branches of government. However, in the modern Russian political system, the institution of parliamentarism is poorly developed at the federal and local levels. Regional parliaments have little influence on decisions on financial aspects, often continuing the all-Russian legislative process. The electoral process associated with elections to local legislative assemblies developed based on the logic of the development of the federal electoral system and the development of federal relations. In the 1990s during the period of decentralized federalism, various types of regional regimes with developed party systems took shape. In the 2000s during the period of centralization, the powers of the regions were reduced, which led to the abolition of direct elections of heads of subjects, and the reform of party and electoral systems. By now, a mixed electoral system has been formed according to party lists and the majority system. The party composition of regional parliaments also does not differ from the federal list of Duma factions. The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is a national republic, which influences the formation of the local regional elite. There are noticeable tendencies in the interdependence of representatives of the elite of the executive and legislative branches of government, as well as signs of community, family ties. According to the party lists of the party of power “United Russia”, the Head of the Republic and representatives of the upper echelons of the republican government are usually represented. In the elections of 2013 and 2018 four parties, representatives of the small parties “Civic Platform” and “For Women of Russia”, are steadily receiving deputy mandates to the local parliament

К вопросу о роли профессиональных союзов в политической системе современной России

К вопросу о роли профессиональных союзов в политической системе современной России

PARTY AND INDEPENDENT-INDIVIDUAL REPRESENTATION IN THE MECHANISM OF ENSURING THE DEMOCRATIC MANDATE OF THE POPULAR TRUST IN A CONSTITUTIONAL STATE

The party system in contemporary Russia has a number of features that should be taken into account in the course of the legal research and search for the optimal correlation of party and independent (individual) representation in the constitutional mechanism of the popular trust mandate. In our opinion, it is the features of the Russian party system at the present stage of its historical development, not multiparty as such, that determine the main vector of constitutional-legal regulation of these public relations and the relevant assessment of this phenomenon in Russian legal science. The research methodology is based on a comparative legal method that allowed the comparison of party and independent representation in the popular representation system. The use of the historical and legal method is determined by the need to identify the features of the development of the party system in modern Russia through the prism of historical facts. The forecasting method has allowed determining the prospects of further development of the Russian political system. The constitutional system of the Russian Federation over the past decades has demonstrated a very decisive rejection of the one-party ideological system and the transition to the nascent but steadily developing multiparty system. As the real multiparty system and political competition become stronger, the individual-independent form of popular representation will give way to the party mandate of popular trust until the institution of “independent” single-member deputies becomes a thing of the past, not only in the State Duma, but also in the legislative (representative) bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. “Independent-individual” national representation is more preferably for the local government, that is non-partisan national representation (in the general federal sense). By its constitutional and legal nature, the municipal popular representation is “independent and individual” in relation to political parties.

Bogurodzico, przegoń Putina. Pussy Riot – feministki kontra autorytaryzm w Rosji

The events that took place in Russia at the end of 2011 – the rigged parliamentary elections and the nomination of Vladimir Putin as presidential candidate, his return to the Kremlin after four years, caused numerous protests on a previously unknown scale. According to various estimates, tens of thousands of dissatisfied citizens took to the streets of Moscow. They were led by Alexei Navalny and Boris Nemtsov, who was later murdered in 2015. The public support of the authorities and the condemnation of the protesters by Patriarch Cyril – the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, was met with a reaction from a now outraged society. On February, 21 2012, the famous feminist group Pussy Riot, staged a performance in the building of the Council of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. The performance was to be a form of protest against the informal alliance of „the throne and the altar”. This informal alliance has been present in Russia for many years, it obliges both sides to mutual support, especially in times of crisis. The trial of the three members of the Pussy Riot group – Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Ekaterina Samucevich and Maria Alokhina was strictly political, despite strict efforts of judges and prosecutors to change its character. Under the pretence of offending religious feelings, a political lynch was carried out against the three women. The real reason for such harsh actions, was disobedience against the head of the Russian state and standing in opposition to the authoritarian form of government. The phoney trial was treated as a warning to the system’s opponents, for them to think twice before undertaking any actions against the state authorities. Pussy Riot’s performance and its consequences have provoked many questions about the condition of the rule of law in Russia and the durability of Vladimir Putin’s regime. The article describes the earlier activities of Pussy Riot, background of the events preceding performance in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, a trial and the world’s response to the verdict. The research area durability and stability of political system in Russia during the presidency of Vladimir Putin and what it guarantees. The main hypothesis is the assumption that any manifestation or insubordination to the existing order in Russia is treated as an affront, and every person undertaking such action must be severely punished and stigmatized. The research method used in the article is an analysis of written sources.

Trust in the Process of Cooperation between the Citizens and the State in Contemporary Russia

The author claims that contemporary cooperation between the state and a citizen in Russia is evolving from a state-centralist model to a kind of partnership. The degree and quality of the state’s cooperation is determined by the hybrid nature of the Russian political system – a combination of elements of democratic institutions and autocratic methods of governance. Cooperation between the state and a citizen should be discussed in the context of attaining the opportunities for cooperation between the citizens and the state in order to achieve general aims, as a means of resolving problems. The author holds the opinion that cooperation can be not only an expression of solidarity, but also a testament to peaceful coexistence (not aimed at wrangling). What serves as an indicator of such cooperation between the state and a citizen is trust in the authorities. It should be said that in the conditions of unconsolidated democratic culture of cooperation between the state and the society, the attitude of the majority of citizens to the contemporary political authorities in Russia is, to a high degree, based on trust in Vladimir Putin. However, the noticeable decrease in the level of trust to certain institutions of authority is a result of the inaction, immorality, and corruption of certain groups of policymakers or representatives of the authorities. One of the major challenges of the authorities is how to increase social trust in political institutions.

Trust in political institutions as a resource of reputation capital of the state

The issue of the effectiveness of the state’s reputation capital in Russian political system is being studied in the context of its matter, structure, organization factors, trends, approaches and patterns. The subject of the study is the trust in the main political institutions as a resource of reputation capital of the state. The following Russian and foreign scientists devoted their works to the study of the reputation capital and its trust: Anokhin, Byba, Grankin, Rozanova, Rudakova, Timofeeva, Baudrillard, Bourdieu, Toffler, and Fukuyama. The purpose of the study is to analyze Russian reputation capital in the context of turbulence, increasing global instability, new challenges, risks and threats. The researchers tend to solve the following tasks: to determine the essence of the state’s reputation capital; to reveal the level of the state’s reputation through the level of trust in its political institutions; to identify trends of its strengthening and weakening in the context of trust. The authors applied the following studying approaches and methods: systemic, institutional, neoinstitutional and comparative approaches; comparative analysis, structural and functional analysis, sociological analysis, observation, overt observation and extrapolation. In the article, the essence of the state’s reputation capital is considered. The components of its structure are studied. Aspects of disappointment with the functioning of some classical political institutions are highlighted. The results of the study are in demand when making political decisions in the context of national security, effective social policy transformation into the basic mechanism of power legitimization, development of moral and ethical requirements for modern politics, creation and implementation of programs and images for political actors. The establishment and development of new growth points in Russia is impossible without the increasing of the trust in the state and its political institutions, without building up its reputation capital, ensuring civil peace and harmony.

Parliamentarianism: concept, signs, and problems of development in Russia

The article analyzes various ideas about the concept and features of parliamentarism. On the basis of the generalization of the legal literature, the following set of features of parliamentarism is denoted: 1) rule of law; 2) separation of powers; 3) participation of the parliament in bodies of executive, judicial and other branches of power; 4) accountability of the executive power to the parliament; 5) multiparty nature, the right to political opposition and ensuring the connection of the population with the state mechanism; 6) special status of the deputy with a free mandate and responsibility before the law; 7) independence of the parliament; 8) special status of the deputy with a free mandate and responsibility before the law. The concept of parliamentarism proposed to counteract state bureaucratization. We connected the idea of parliamentarism with the possibility of mitigating authoritarian tendencies in Russian political system.

“Nationalization of the Russian Elite” as a Political Project

The article explores the process of “nationalisation of the Russian elite”. “Nationalization of the elite” is presented as a reorientation of assets, business practices, the production of meanings of the political and economic elite into the contour of the Russian fields of interaction. The author characterised the Russian political system as a “state of limited access”, where actors of the political and economic field compete for rent distribution. The turn from the legitimate offshore practices of the pre-sanctions period to the mobilisation version of the formation of elite consensus in the context of “new normality” is analysed. The author considered political protests of 2012 and sanctions against Russia in 2014–2019 as factors of the “nationalisation of the elite”. The author proved that the interests of the state-apparatus and the state-nation in the issue of “nationalisation of the elite” have points of contact. An analysis of the assets of the Russian business elite in comparison with the business elites of other countries shows their privatisation and rental nature. The amount of assets held outside the Russian jurisdiction indicates a lack of trust in the business elite towards the stability of the “rules of the game” in Russia. These factors legitimise the process of “nationalisation” in public space. Within the framework of the concept of the bundle of property rights by A. Honore and the concept of communication codes, the theoretical aspects of the nationalisation of the business elite and the political elite are analysed. Finally, the author points to the problem of the possibility of “nationalisation of the nation” as a continuation of the mobilisation scenario.

The Nationalization of the Elite in Russia in 2010-Ies as an Element of Political System Insurance in Case of Realization of the Destructive Scenario

The relevance of this topic is due to the forthcoming of the open stage of transit of the Russian political system, which will inevitably be accompanied by a change of generations of the political elite. It raises the question of what “exit strategy” exists for the existing elite, which is now at the levers of governmental management. It will have a decisive influence on the course and outcome of the transit of the political system. The purpose of this article is to analyse the implementation of the government’s strategy for the nationalisation of the elite, which is carried out in the 2010s, to assess its progress, limitations and problems it faced. The article deals with the Russian experience of nationalisation of the elite of the last seven years, both in terms of changes in legislation and, most importantly, law enforcement and political practice. The author placed particular emphasis on the existing limitations of this project — lack of “exit strategy” of the current elite and lack of a large project that could mobilise the elite. The author concludes that the events of 2014 and the ensuing confrontation with the West have done much more to nationalise the elite than the purposeful efforts of the authorities for two years before. However, the political practice has not yet answered the key question — what will be the second stage of nationalisation of the elite, which will be completed by 2022–2024.

Recruitment Channels of the Highest Administrative Elite of Russia

Elites have traditionally played a significant role in the development of society and the state, which was recognised by researchers regardless of their shared political views and preferences regarding political systems . In this regard, the author paid particular attention to the recruitment of elites, their renewal, the mechanisms of their formation . In the context of the Russian political system, where all significant changes are traditionally implemented “from the top”, this issue is particularly relevant . Against the background of the ineffectiveness of democratic mechanisms designed to form vertical channels of elite renewal, the responsibility for maintaining its viability and efficiency falls on the Russian elite itself . This study examines the channels of recruitment of the highest administrative elite . Based on the results of their research, the author concluded there exists the predominance of the bureaucratic channel of recruitment, namely the experience of working in a senior position in public authorities as the primary way of forming the Russian administrative elite . The author has drawn attention to the prevalence of managerial experience in a commercial or state-owned company . It is particularly pronounced in government agencies that closely interact with business in the framework of their activities . Besides, there is an extremely low prevalence among the representatives of the highest administrative elite of winners of management competitions and graduates of management reserve training programs, which indicates a slight impact at present of new recruitment mechanisms on the formation of the highest layer of managers in Russia .

Russian Political System: New Authoritarianism or Hybrid Democracy

This study analyzes the current model of the Russian political system from the point of view of its influence on the political landscape of Central Europe (European states). Modern political system of Russia (with minor changes) has existed for almost 20 years, demonstrating amazing stability. To date, we can say that the basic principles of this system have remained unchanged throughout the entire period of its existence. An important feature is that this system is quite resistant to both external and internal challenges. Unpopular government measures such as the pension reform, raising the VAT rate, increasing indirect taxes and fees — did not lead either to the destruction of the established political model or to its revision. The economic consequences of sanctions, the permanent increase in prices and tariffs cause discontent among the population, nevertheless, the demand from the population for an alternative political model remains weak, and protest activity remains low. The stability of the existing political model of Russia and, to some extent, the success in its construction led to the fact that some politicians in European countries consider it as an alternative. This model is partially reproduced by the leaders of some European countries — Serbia and Hungary. Within the framework of the present study: I. In the first part of work, we will characterize the features of the modern political model of Russia; analyze its economic, political and ideological foundations. II. In the second part, we are going to consider the influence of this model on the political systems of European states (using the example of Serbia and Hungary)

Политическая система России: общие и специальные вопросы социальной обусловленности уголовно-правовой охраны власти и информационной подсистемы

Политическая система России: общие и специальные вопросы социальной обусловленности уголовно-правовой охраны власти и информационной подсистемы

Patriotism and Friendship of Peoples as the Basic Determinants of the Russian Civilization

Introduction. The article examines the nature and essence of patriotism and friendship of peoples, their crucial role for the life of the Russian Federation. Over the past decades, radical changes have taken place in the political system of Russia, its social and ethnic structure, and a heterogeneous ethno-confessional society has been formed. The author shows that patriotism and friendship of peoples are the most important determinants, specific properties necessary for the integration of our multinational federation ensuring order and stability in the country, its sustainable and dynamic development, the gradual formation of new supra-ethnic and supra-confessional values, and general cultural identity. Methods. The combination of applying methods and approaches is the key to studying the theory and practice of patriotism, recognizing its procedural nature, unity and opposition in the activities of the state and society, the interests of the government, political parties and social groups. The use of the polyparadigmatic methodology in studying the nature and essence of patriotism, in particular, the activity and civilizational approaches, the synergetic method, dialectic categories made it possible to determine the complexity and continuity of the formation of patriotism and patriotic work, to reveal dynamism and conflict, general and special features in them. Analysis. Studying the real state of Russian society points to the weakness of systemic activities of patriotic education, preserving and strengthening the unity and friendship between nations. The lack of a common goal problematizes the search for a common patriotic idea, new foundations for Russian civilization, the common existence of nations, the construction of a welfare state and a harmonious society. Results. The article reveals inadequacy of the declared ideas of patriotism and friendship of peoples to the policy and practice of implementing neoliberal values and the priority of individualism. The author shows that the process of further fragmentation and stratification, alienation and separation of people according to racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, confessional, generational, professional and other characteristics continues in society. The transition of already atomized individuals from the ethnic mentality and national behavioral stereotypes to a single patriotic goal – the all-Russian identity – is formal. Today, the activity on the formation of patriotism and patriotic attitudes of consciousness does not affect the deep, essential foundations of society, is of a festival and manipulative nature, and in many respects concerns only the military sphere, tourism and sports. The notes mentioned create significant difficulties in understanding the idea of the common welfare, genuine and false in patriotism, the definition of objective interests of the state, authority and society, social groups and individual elites. Modern globalization inevitably involves taking into account the national interests of Russia, the search for optimal forms of interconnection of civilizational and universal principles.

Putin v. The People: The Perilous Politics of a Divided Russia by Samuel A. Greene (review)

REVIEWS 793 turnout in 2016 (p. 129), and the crackdown, and de-liberalization programme, launched by the Kremlin following the 2011–12 protests when discussing the 2016 election (p. 250). Readers’ reactions will likely be conditioned by whether they are more sympathetic to the ‘“electoral authoritarian” approach or the “comparative political science approach” to the study of elections noted by Hutcheson in the final paragraph of the book. At points, Hutcheson’s attempt to blend these two approaches is tricky. For example, he writes that ‘it can be contended that the primary reason that Putin and the presidential administration spent significant energy upon obtaining a pro-presidential majority in the State Duma, and modifying the selection processes for the Federation Council, has not been that of constructing an authoritarian regime, but rather to bring stability to the process of legislation and to their security of power’ (p. 46). But many will consider efforts to ‘bring stability’ to the incumbents’ ‘security of power’ to be precisely a key feature of an authoritarian regime. This book will be of interest to scholars of Russian politics, electoral politics, legislative politics and authoritarianism. By virtue of its breadth and depth, it will be a key resource in understanding an important dimension of the construction of the modern-day Russian political system by a scholar with unmatched knowledge of the intricacies of the Russian electoral system. UCL SSEES B. H. Noble Greene, Samuel A. and Robertson, Graeme B. Putin v. The People: The Perilous Politics of a Divided Russia. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT and London, 2019. vii + 287 pp. Dramatis personae. Notes. Index. £20.00. The narrative of Vladimir Putin as puppet master, as tsar, as evil supervillain has long been prevailing in Western academic and non-academic discourses on the Russian Federation. He is the ‘dictator with an iron first’ who rules ‘despite the masses, who, given the opportunity, would gladly kick them out of office’ (p. 2). Samuel A. Greene and Graeme B. Robertson’s publication, like Mark Galeotti’s recent We Need to Talk About Putin: Why the West Gets Him Wrong, and how to Get Him Right (London, 2019), marks a new turn in the literature on the region, one that challenges the Putin-centric focus in the study of Russian politics and writes the citizens into the narrative. This book is therefore revolutionary in its analysis of the power of autocracies: it chooses not to analyse it from the conventional top-down approach, but rather as a coconstructed phenomenon, investigating ‘the role of Russian society in building SEER, 97, 4, OCTOBER 2019 794 Putin’s power’ (p. 2). It thus depicts a power structure that is much more fragile and unstable than Putin and his ‘cronies’ would like the world to believe. Incorporating polling data, surveys, interviews and social media traffic, the book tracks the driving factors behind the politics of Putin’s third and fourth terms. At the start of his third term, support for Putin was wavering, and the weaponization of key issues, religion and sexuality, was essential in order to siphon off some of the opposition’s support and widen the divide between Putin and the opposition. Russian politician Leonid Volkov described the invasion of Crimea and annexation of Eastern Ukraine as the ‘magic bean’ (p. 88) that galvanized a limp political system, the moment at which the Kremlin managed to seize back the political agenda. Putin became the symbol around which the country united, and the population became more emotionally-invested in politics and its leader, the object of Russian ‘pride, hope and trust’ (p. 107). The euphoria over the invasion sparked a peak in approval ratings and the future looked brighter, in spite of economic sanctions. The Kremlin is acutely aware of its need for popularity amongst the Russian masses, frequently conducting surveys, polls and focus groups in order to ‘identify how to win and retain that support’ (p. 200), and Greene and Robertson’s book presents the Russian citizens as the everyday enforcers of the regime. Most, including Natalya and Maxim, partake in ordinary, daily interactions that support the administration, e.g. in schools, workplaces, churches. Only a minority of Russian citizens...

The Attempt of the Cossack Revival in the Social and Political System of Russia in the 20th and Early 21st Centuries

Introduction. The paper conducts the analysis of the attempt of the Cossack revival in Russia in different historical periods of the 20th and early 21st centuries. The attempt of revival is treated as a series of social experiments that involved the government and the Cossacks as a social group. The relevance of the issue is due to the need for complex studying the relations between the government and the Cossacks in the conditions of transformation and systemic modernization in different periods. The revival experiments of different periods had both specific and common characteristics as to their tasks and forms. It is important to study the tasks, participants, forms and methods of the revival experiments in different periods. Methods and materials. The author uses the historical method, the conception of systemic modernization and transformation, and the conception of social and cultural construction. Analysis. The paper determines two main periods in the history of the relations between the government and the Cossacks in the 20th – early 21st centuries that can be characterized as “the Cossack revival”. The author establishes the reasons of those social experiments as well as the roles of participants, and the forms and ways of Cossacks’ integration into the new social and political relations. Results. The article determines that all the attempts of the Cossack revival were undertaken during the systemic modernization. The author determines the main difference between the periods. In the 1920s – 1930s there were transformation of the Cossacks and their adaptation to the new conditions. The late 1980s – early 1990s can be characterized as the period of social and cultural formation of the Cossacks as a social group. Within each period revival development stages that display peculiar features of those experiments can be determined. The mid 1920s was the period of involving Cossacks in the Soviet construction processes. Some Cossack cultural elements were restored and the authorities sought to establish a dialogue with the Cossacks. In the mid 1930s the government actions were rather ostentatious. In both periods the initiator of the processes was the government. In the late 1980s – early 1990s, the initiators of the revival process were Cossacks themselves while the authorities played an important role as a supporter of the revival movement. Within this period the early 2000s can be marked out when the process of the Cossack revival shifted from cultural development to the Cossacks’ public service.

Erazm Piltz o wojnach i ich skutkach dla sytuacji Polski

<p class="kasia"><span>Erazm Piltz (1851–1929), jeden z liderów stronnictwa „realistów”, zaliczany do tzw. nurtu „ugody” z Rosją uważał, że po powstaniu 1863 r. nie ma szans na suwerenność Polski. Wszystkie próby obrony, a następnie jej odzyskania środkami militarnymi skończyły się klęską. Każde kolejne powstanie zagraża zagładą narodu, a państwa zachodnie nie udzielą pomocy militarnej, gdyż nie zdecydują się na wojnę z zaborcami. Nie dojdzie też do konfliktu między nimi. Dlatego był przekonany, że należy legalnymi środkami starać się o zapewnienie jak najlepszych warunków bytu narodu w każdym z zaborów. Szanse na jego poprawę w Królestwie Polskim widział jedynie w przypadku zreformowania ustroju Rosji, szczególnie w czasie rewolucji 1905–1907, będącej efektem wojny rosyjsko-japońskiej. Podobnie w latach I wojny światowej opowiadał się za takim rozwiązaniem. Z czasem jego poglądy zaczęły ewoluować i od rewolucji 1917 r. dostrzegał szansę na odbudowę suwerenności, lecz także pod egidą Rosji. Opcję tę porzucił po przewrocie bolszewickim z listopada 1917 r. Od tej pory w ramach Komitetu Narodowego Polskiego działał na rzecz uzyskania niepodległości, a w II Rzeczypospolitej, pełniąc szereg funkcji w dyplomacji, starał się wpływać na umocnienie jej pozycji międzynarodowej.</span></p>

ON PUTIN'S LONG STATE(reflections on the article of Vladislav Surkov)

The author, analyzing the article by V. Surkov Putins Lasting State, expresses either agreement with a part of his theses, substantiating it, doubting or denying and also briefly justifying them. Agreement with the theses: illusion of choice, realism of predestination, logic of the historical process, state of a new type, uniqueness and viability of Russia, model of the state, ideology of Putinism, people, the military and police functions are the most important and decisive. Doubts, denial: impossible, unnatural, counterhistorical disintegration of Russia, growing Russia, survival of the Russian nation, the absence of mention of the First President of the Russian Federation, which laid the foundation of the new Russia a significant export potential of the Russian political system, supreme ruler, understating the value of political institutions and the promotion of one person against this background, multilevel political institutions outlet clothing,trust in one person.

The Present of ‘Putin System’ and Prospects over the Future Evolution of Russian Political System

The Present of ‘Putin System’ and Prospects over the Future Evolution of Russian Political System

The European and Russian Far Right as Political Actors: Comparative Approach

The article is devoted to the comparative analysis of the far right (nationalist) as political actors in Russia and in Europe. Whereas the European far-right movements over the last years managed to achieve significant success turning into influential political forces as a result of surging popular support, in Russia the far-right organizations failed to become the fully-fledged political actors. This looks particularly surprising, given the historically deep-rooted nationalist tradition, which stems from the times Russian Empire. Before the 1917 revolution, the so-called «Black Hundred» was one of the major far-right organizations, exploiting nationalistic and anti-Semitic rhetoric, which had representation in the Russian parliament – The State Duma. During the most Soviet period all the far-right movements in Russia were suppressed, re-emerging in the late 1980s as rather vocal political force. But currently the majority of them are marginal groups, partly due to the harsh party regulation, partly due to the fact, that despite state-sponsored nationalism the position of Russian far right does not stand in-line with the position of Russian authorities, trying to suppress the Russian nationalists. This is sharply contrasting with the situation with the far right in Europe, which are more well-established and institutionalized as political actors, using conventional forms of political activity. However, despite some differences with the European counterparts, the Russian far right have obvious potential as political actors, which can be realized under certain circumstances, enabling them to play more significant in the political system of Russia.