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Russian president urges "political rivalry" among parties

24 November 2010 01:20 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has pointed out at the symptoms of political stagnation in the country and called for a higher level of competition among political parties, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.
"It is not a secret that political life in our country at a certain point started showing signs of stagnation...This stagnation is equally deadly for the ruling party and the opposition," Medvedev said in his video blog late on Tuesday.
"There is an urgent need to raise the level of political rivalry [in Russia]," Medvedev said, adding that reforms of Russia’s political system have been steadily carried out since 2008.
"We simply want to make our political system more just, more flexible, more dynamic, more open to reforms and progress," the president said. "This system must enjoy high level of the electorate’s trust."
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, Russia has faced serious challenges in its efforts to forge a political system to follow nearly seventy-five years of the Soviet rule.
With a new constitution, which was adopted in 1993, and a new parliament representing diverse parties and factions, Russia’s political structure started showing signs of stabilization.
Four major parties â€” United Russia, Communist Party, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and A Just Russia party â€” dominate the political scene in the country.
Since the formation of United Russia in December 2001, it has been the ruling political party in Russia. Supporting initially former president Vladimir Putin, and now his successor Dmitry Medvedev, United Russia holds 315 of the 450 seats in the lower house of parliament, the State Duma.