| Union of Right Forces | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Leader | Nikita Belykh |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Moscow |
| Official ideology/ political position |
Liberalism Economic liberalism Liberal conservatism |
| International affiliation | International Democrat Union |
| Website | www.SPS.ru |
The Union of Right Forces, or SPS (Сою́з Пра́вых Сил, СПС/Soyuz Pravykh Sil), is a Russian democratic opposition party associated with free market reforms, privatization, and the legacy of the 'Young Reformers' of the 1990s: Anatoly Chubais, Boris Nemtsov, and Yegor Gaidar. Nikita Belykh is the party's leader. The Party is considered by most western media organs such as The Economist and the BBC to be one of Russia's only parties that support western-style capitalism, society-politically the party is more conservative. Its headquarters are located in Moscow. It is affiliated to the International Democrat Union. The Union of Right Forces was established in 1999, following a merger of several smaller liberal parties, including Democratic Choice of Russia and Democratic Russia. In the 1999 parliamentary elections the Union of Right Forces won 8.6% of the vote and 32 seats in the Russian State Duma (lower house of Parliament). From 2000 to 2003 the Union of Right Forces was led by former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov. Under Nemtsov's leadership SPS strongly opposed what they saw to be the authoritarian policies of President Vladimir Putin and argued that political and media freedoms in Russia had been curtailed. In the 2003 parliamentary elections the Union of Right Forces, according to official results, received 4% of the vote and failed to cross the 5% threshold necessary for parliamentary representation. A number of SPS candidates came second in single-mandate electoral districts the party had previously held, such as Irina Khakamada in St. Petersburg, Vladimir V. Kara-Murza in Moscow, or Boris Nadezhdin in the Moscow region. Despite allegations of fraud, Boris Nemtsov accepted responsibility for the election defeat and resigned as SPS leader in January 2004. On May 28, 2005 Nikita Belykh was elected as the new leader of the party. Plans to merge with Yabloko were shelved in late 2006.[1] The party won 0.96% of votes in the 2007 elections, not breaking the 7% barrier, and thus no seats in duma.
See also
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| Major parties | United Russia • Communist Party of the Russian Federation • Liberal Democratic Party of Russia • Fair Russia |
| Minor parties | Agrarian Party of Russia • Civilian Power • Democratic Party of Russia • Green Alternative • Russian Libertarian Movement • Party of Russia's Rebirth • Patriots of Russia • Peace and Unity • People's Union • Russian Ecological Party "The Greens" • Russian Social Justice Party • Union of Right Forces • Yabloko |
| - List of political parties - Politics of Russia | |
