"It takes only one party to win power. That party is to lead the Left wing. I hate to involve anymore in a tug-of-war between people of bloated ambition, and I shall never again join whatever fronts and coalitions," he said to newsmen during a break as his party was holding congress.
Mr. Rogozin does not think the Communist Party can offer him any worthy rivals. It has small hopes after a split formalised yesterday after two parallel congresses, each electing a leader.
"They have strangled a party that used to make Russian history-a pity!" he complained.
"We shall be glad to see the long-established Left electorate voting for us," the Rodina leader added with optimistic attention to the communist cloud's silver lining.
The Rodina is amending its party rules today to bar entry to available political parties, leagues and movements that would choose to become Rodina affiliates. If they are really eager to, they are free to disband themselves for their members to make personal applications to join the Rodina, said Rogozin.
"There is no way for two or three parties to establish a fourth-but we are willing to offer provisos on which their members can join the Rodina," he went on. This resolute statement spelt the doom of a previous unity understanding with basic organisations on the Rodina bloc-the one led by Sergei Baburin, the other Sergei Glazyev's.
"The Rodina has its doors open to each and every," Rogozin encouragingly added.
As Sergei Glazyev said to the media on an earlier occasion, he hoped his hitherto unregistered movement, For Worthy Living, would join the Rodina as equal partner.
Dmitri Rogozin shrugged off all reporters' queries about Glazyev, saying only that he was now away in London and so could notattend the congress in the Rodina ranks.
As he was addressing the congress, Rogozin stressed a noteworthy point-the motherland to whom it owes its name is within the frontiers of the no longer existent USSR.
"Look at this here map-it is not a map of Russia but of the Soviet Union!" he rhetorically exclaimed pointing at a huge map that was taking up a vast wall in the congress hall.
As he sees it, Russia is legal successor to the USSR and so ought to incorporate all unrecognised separatist republics throughout the post-Soviet area. "They are to come to Russia's bosom without blushing and making excuses," says Rogozin.
The party is describing its political stance as "resolute opposition" to the government and its liberal reforms.
"We are not to stay in opposition for too long. To win a Duma majority in 2007 [year of the next parliamentary election] is our immediate objective," Rogozin stressed.
Tomorrow, the party congress intends to approve amended Regulations, which will stipulate one official leader, Sergei Butin, party press secretary, said to Novosti.
There were, till today, seven co-chairs in the party that has inherited the symbolism of the Rodina election bloc.
"Multiple leadership is inefficient leadership. Practice has proved the point. We have long had only one leader, for that matter, and we are merely giving the arrangement a formal footing," explained Butin.
Dmitri Rogozin is Rodina public leader. If he becomes sole official leader, too, he will never act as autocrat but merely build up party discipline, he reassures.
The congress is also expected to determine the Rodina's strategic allies. Rogozin's address clarified the point only partly-it will certainly not side with the United Russia.
The United Russia came at the latest parliamentary election as a Centre party to win an overwhelming majority. Now, it has shifted to the radical Right wing, said Rogozin. "They have not merely taken the place of the Union of Right Forces-they have outdone it by far to degrade to extreme Right stances."
"We shall never join hands with that lot," he solemnly said to send his audience into applause.
The congress intends to make a political statement on current Russian developments in the context of a social-oriented package the Duma approved in an initial reading, July 2. The Rodina parliamentary group offered an indignant resistance to the bills then.
The upcoming agenda includes debates on a draft party manifesto, Regulations amendments, and the party's prospects for regional elections.
