Being the opposition in contemporary Russia

Abstract

Did the ideological discourse of the KPRF, the communist successor party in post-Communist Russia, evolve in the same direction as the identity and discourse of the majority of ex-communist parties in Eastern and Central Europe which now embrace social democracy? In particular, did the KPRF’s Marxist–Leninist and nationalist–socialist rhetoric change with time as the political climate for its functioning as the only viable Russian opposition party continued to deteriorate? This question is addressed through content analysis of public documents and internal party documents, which reveals that the latter are considerably more liberal and democratic in tone than the former.