The Russian People's Democratic Union (RNDS; ; ''Rossiyskiy narodno-demokraticheskiy soyuz'', ''RNDS''), initially named as People for Democracy and Justice (NDS; ; ''Narod za demokratiyu i spravedlivost'', ''NDS'') was a liberal opposition political party in Russia, founded in 2006. The party was a member of the opposition coalition The Other Russia and was founded by former Prime Minister

Mikhail Kasyanov Mikhail Mikhailovich Kasyanov ( rus, Михаи́л Миха́йлович Касья́нов, , mʲɪxɐˈil mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kɐˈsʲjanəf, links=no; born 8 December 1957) is a Russian politician who served as Prime Minister of Russia fr ...

after he failed to win the leadership of the

Democratic Party of Russia The Democratic Party of Russia (DPR) is a conservative Russian political party that was founded in 1990. Under the leadership of Andrei Vladimirovich Bogdanov, Andrey Bogdanov, the party advocated the entry of Russia into the European Union. ...

. The Union was one of the founding parties of the

People's Freedom Party People's Freedom Party may mean one of the following: * People's Freedom Party (Russia) * People's Freedom Party "For Russia without Lawlessness and Corruption" * Constitutional Democratic Party, also called the People's Freedom Party * Constit ...

, in which the RNDS merged into in 2012.

History

RNDS was created at a congress in Moscow on 8 April 2006, drawing delegates from the

Union of Right Forces The Union of Right Forces (URF). was a Russian liberal-conservative political public organization and former party, initially founded as an electoral bloc in 1999 and associated with free market reforms, privatization, and the legacy of the "yo ...

Yabloko The Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko (RUDP Yabloko; rus, Росси́йская объединённая демократи́ческая па́ртия «Я́блоко», Rossiyskaya obyedinyonnaya demokraticheskaya partiya "Yabloko" ...

and

Irina Khakamada Irina Mutsuovna Khakamada ( rus, Ири́на Муцу́овна Хакама́да, p=ɪˈrʲinə mʊˈtsuəvnə xəkɐˈmadə; born 13 April 1955) is a Russian economist, political activist, journalist, teacher, publicist, and politician who ...

’s “Our Choice” movement. The

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

repeatedly declined to register the party, prompting Kasyanov to re-brand the project several times under names such as “People for Democracy and Justice.” Unable to contest elections, RNDS became a founding member of the opposition coalition The Other Russia and helped organise the

Dissenters' March The Dissenters' March () was a series of Russian opposition protests that took place on December 16, 2006 in Moscow, on March 3, 2007 in Saint Petersburg, on March 24, 2007 in Nizhny Novgorod, on April 14, 2007 for the second time in Moscow, on ...

es in 2006–07, rallies that were repeatedly broken up by police. The U.S. State Department’s 2008 human-rights report documented arrests of RNDS activists during these protests, including that of a regional organiser Aleksandr Bragin.

2008 presidential campaign

At a party congress on 23 July 2007 RNDS formally nominated Kasyanov as its candidate for the 2 March 2008 presidential election. After collecting the required two million signatures, he filed his paperwork in January 2008, but the

Central Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

ruled that a significant share of the endorsements were invalid and removed him from the ballot. The Supreme Court later rejected Kasyanov’s appeal against the exclusion.

People's Freedom Party

In September 2010 RNDS opened negotiations with the pro-democracy movement

Solidarnost United Democratic Movement "Solidarnost" (; ''Obyedinonnoye demokraticheskoye dvizheniye «Solidarnost»'', ''ODD "Solidarnost"''), abbreviated ODD "Solidarnost" (Russian for "Solidarity", named after the Polish Solidarność), is a Russian lib ...

and other liberal groups on forming a united opposition party. The talks culminated in the launch of the People’s Freedom Party “For Russia without Lawlessness and Corruption” on 13 December 2010, with Kasyanov,

Boris Nemtsov Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov; (9 October 195927 February 2015) was a Russian physicist, liberalism in Russia, liberal politician, and outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin. Early in his political career, he was involved in the introduction of reform ...

Vladimir Ryzhkov Vladimir Aleksandrovich Ryzhkov (; born 3 September 1966) is a Russian historian and liberal politician, a former co-chair of People's Freedom Party (2006 –2014) and former Russian State Duma member (1993–2007), First Deputy Chairman ...

and

Vladimir Milov Vladimir Stanislavovich Milov (, born 18 June 1972) is a Russian politician, economist and the former chairman of the Russian political party Democratic Choice from May 2012 to December 2015. He served as Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian ...

as co-chairs. Following liberalisation of party-registration rules, RNDS dissolved its structures and in June 2012 completed a merger into the newly registered Republican Party of Russia – People’s Freedom Party (RPR-PARNAS).

References

External links

Official site of RNDSSite Mikhail Kasyanov - leader of RNDS

Community in LJ
2007 establishments in Russia Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party member parties Liberal parties in Russia Opposition to Vladimir Putin People's Freedom Party "For Russia without Lawlessness and Corruption" Political parties established in 2007 People's Freedom Party Russian democracy movements {{Europe-liberal-party-stub

History

2008 presidential campaign

People's Freedom Party

See also

References

External links