ABSTRACT
Under the Soviet system only a single party had enjoyed a legal existence. Mentioned in passing in earlier versions, the Soviet constitution that was adopted under the guidance of Leonid Brezhnev in 1977 had converted the effective dominance of the Communist Party into a formal political monopoly. A legal framework for multi-party politics was established the following October when a new law on public associations was adopted, covering political parties as well as trade unions, women's and veterans' associations, and sport clubs. Russia's Democratic Choice adopted 'freedom, property, legality' as its slogan; it favoured a reduction in the role of the state, support for small business, the privatisation of agriculture and a cut in military expenditure. A further group of parties occupied a national-patriotic position, including a new and apparently promising grouping, the Congress of Russian Communities. The Communists' ally in rural areas was the Agrarian Party, founded in 1993, and representing state and collective farm rather than commercial agriculture.
