The largest one is the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, which is the official successor to the CPSU, and is headed by Gennady Zyuganov. They are technically the largest opposition party, and they do get votes from lots of people who are dissatisfied with the system. But they're also pretty obviously controlled opposition, essentially the left wing of the United Russia party that just happen to have their own party. The problem with them is Zyuganov, a limp figure in Russian politics. He ran against Yeltsin in 1994, and was a boring, Biden-like figure who seemed mentally stuck in the Brezhnev era and didn't run a slick, modern campaign. Despite that, his promise of economic stability was tremendously appealing and Yeltsin was deeply unpopular, so it's overwhelmingly likely that he actually won the election, considering the massive amount of obvious vote fraud that Yeltsin had to use. But Zyuganov chose not to contest the results, dooming Russia to more privatization and theft. He's been in firm control of the CPRF since then, but shows no sign that his political instincts have in any way improved.
The second largest is the Communists of Russia party, headed by Maxim Suraykin, a party that I think has a minor presence in the Duma. The Revolution Report did an interesting interview with him, in four parts:
However, it should be noted that Suraykin has been accused of setting up his party with the help of the establishment in an attempt to further hobble the CPRF. I don't know how true that is, but it's been alleged.
After that, there are a bunch of smaller parties that I know very little about.
The largest one is the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, which is the official successor to the CPSU, and is headed by Gennady Zyuganov. They are technically the largest opposition party, and they do get votes from lots of people who are dissatisfied with the system. But they're also pretty obviously controlled opposition, essentially the left wing of the United Russia party that just happen to have their own party. The problem with them is Zyuganov, a limp figure in Russian politics. He ran against Yeltsin in 1994, and was a boring, Biden-like figure who seemed mentally stuck in the Brezhnev era and didn't run a slick, modern campaign. Despite that, his promise of economic stability was tremendously appealing and Yeltsin was deeply unpopular, so it's overwhelmingly likely that he actually won the election, considering the massive amount of obvious vote fraud that Yeltsin had to use. But Zyuganov chose not to contest the results, dooming Russia to more privatization and theft. He's been in firm control of the CPRF since then, but shows no sign that his political instincts have in any way improved.
The second largest is the Communists of Russia party, headed by Maxim Suraykin, a party that I think has a minor presence in the Duma. The Revolution Report did an interesting interview with him, in four parts:
Interview with General Secretary of Communists of Russia Party Maxim Suraykin (pt. 1)
Interview with General Secretary of Communists of Russia Party Maxim Suraykin (pt. 2)
Interview with General Secretary of Communists of Russia Party Maxim Suraykin (pt. 3)
Interview with General Secretary of Communists of Russia Party Maxim Suraykin (pt. 4)
However, it should be noted that Suraykin has been accused of setting up his party with the help of the establishment in an attempt to further hobble the CPRF. I don't know how true that is, but it's been alleged.
After that, there are a bunch of smaller parties that I know very little about.