The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (Russian: Коммунистическая партия Российской Федерации = КПРФ; translit.: Kommunisticheskaya Partiya Rossiskoy Federatsiy = KPRF) is a Russian political party. It is sometimes seen a successor to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Bolshevik Party. The party has emphasised its uniquely Russian character and it has consistently invoked Russian patriotism and nationalism in addition to communism.

Today much of the party's economic platform resembles democratic socialism, in spite of the party's name. It claims membership of 500,000.

Early members included Aleksandr Dugin who helped to draft early party documents and pushed the party in the direction of nationalism. He has since left to join the National Bolshevik Party, from which he was also banned, later forming his own "Eurasian" movement. Party leader Gennady Zyuganov also briefly worked with leading European nationalist Jean-Francois Thiriart before the latter's death.

Its support had been building steadily since its establishment in 1993, but it dropped massively in the 2003 parliamentary elections and has remained low since. At these last legislative elections, 7 December 2003, the party won 12.6 % of the popular vote and 51 out of 450 seats.

The CPRF is led by Gennady Zyuganov, who called the 2003 elections a 'revolting spectacle' and accuses the Kremlin of setting up a Potemkin party, the Rodina party, to steal its votes.

In July 2004 a breakaway faction elected Vladimir Tikhonov as its leader. The faction later formed the Communist Party of Russian Future.

External links

• CPRF site

See also

• History of post-Soviet Russia

Communist parties in the Former Soviet Union | Political parties in Russia | 1993 establishments

Kommunistische Partei der Russischen Föderation | Partido Comunista de la Federación Rusa | 러시아 공산당 | Partito Comunista della Federazione Russa | Communistische Partij van de Russische Federatie | ロシア連邦共産党 | Den russiske føderasjonens kommunistiske parti | Komunistyczna Partia Federacji Rosyjskiej | Коммунистическая партия Российской Федерации | Ryska federationens kommunistiska parti | 俄罗斯联邦共产党