ABSTRACT
Political scientists agree that a healthy system of political parties is crucial to the success of democratic regimes. Political parties structure the electoral process, provide candidates with mechanisms for election, and provide 'channels of expression' that can help block off other, more destructive, forms of political participation.1 However, a complete understanding of how parties form and the direct implications for party formation on other elements of the political system is still lacking. As a country developing institutional arrangements in its struggle through a transition to democracy, Russia is an ideal setting for investigating these issues. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) held a constitutionally guaranteed monopoly on political power in the Soviet Union until March 1990. The relinquishing of this role was simultaneously a recognition that it was not up to the task, a legitimation of groups that had begun to form, and a green light for the formation of alternative political parties. While a rapid rise in the growth of political groups fuelled initial optimism, political parties capable of sustaining multi-party democracy failed to form in the period 1990-93. This failure had a strong negative effect on the stability and
development of the post-communist political regime; only after the bloody dissolution of parliament did Russia see its first truly multi-party elections.
