Democracy issues in Russia.

The Russian Supreme Court has banned the Republican Party of Vladimir Ryjkov. The reason given is that the party is too small and is not very well represented in the regions in Russia.



One might expect such petty things from the mini-dictators in countries like the Armenian president Kocharian but I would expect something a little more creative from Putin. Acts like a plane accident in which Ryjkov was traveling, or some kind of terrorist act by a rival, and equally undesirable, party (that would kill two wabbits with one stone), or a Chechen terrorist act are out of question for such a small party. One wonders what has necessitated the party closure. If they are weak, let them exist as they can't challenge the autocratic government in Kremlin.



Here is the small article on RFE/RL about the closure.