Political parties are the fabric of democratic politics. In 1991 a new Russia emerged after seven decades of one-party dictatorship, claiming to be on the road towards democracy. In this volume the authors analyse the many contradictions, dilemmas, and paradoxes of reconstituting free party politics and democratic rule in a severely traumatized country. Frequently from a comparative perspective they deal with a range of topics, from the behaviour of the new parties in parliament, the role of ideology in cementing party organizations, to the character and prospects of the transient Russian party system. Contents: Party Development in the Regions: When Did Parites Start to Play a Part in Politics? Ruth Brown. Regional Party System Formation in Russia: The Deviant Case of Sverdlovsk Oblast Vladimir Gel'man and Grigorii V. Golosov. The Electoral Effects of Presidentialism in Post-Soviet Russia Robert G Moser. Party Platforms: Towards a Definition of the Russian Political Spectrum Sarah Oates. Ideology, Uncertainty and the Rise of Anti-System Parties in Post-Communist Russia Stephen E Hanson. Left or Right? The CPRF and the Problem of Democratic Consolidtion in Russia. Richard Sakwa. Classifying Russia's Party System: The Problem of 'Relevance' in a Time of Uncertainty Neil Robinson. Should Party in Parliament be Weak or Strong? The Rules Debate in the Russian State Moshe Haspel. Political Conflict and Institutional Design: Paths of Party Development in Russia Tom Remington. Where Now in the Study of Russian Political Parties? Frederic J Fleron Jr, Richard Ahl and Finbarr Lane. The Lessons of Comparative Politics: Russian Political Parties as Independent Variables? Paul Webb and Paul G Lewis. Appendix compiled by Stephen White.