We conducted serious talks with political parties over the last few months, deciding to set up a coalition of Russia's patriots. This coalition will comprise nine political parties, Gennady Semigin, chairman of the Russian Popular-Patriotic Union, noted.
In his opinion, the establishment of a political coalition, i.e. an independent patriotic opposition force, has become quite topical nowadays.
The coalition involves the Eurasian Party - Union of Russian Patriots, the National Communist Party of the Future, National-Patriotic Forces of the Russian Federation, the Party of Russian Revival, the Party of Russian Retirees, the Russian Party of Working People's Self-Government, the Russian Party of Labor, the Union for Education and Science party, as well as the Russian Public-Patriotic Union.
This coalition will have territorial, municipal and district chapters, Mr. Semigin, who was elected the coalition's chairman, noted.
In other words, it will have a rigid vertically-integrated structure, boasting a common platform and common governing bodies all the same. This will be a compact and rigid structure replete with a broad ideological base and comprising leftist and rightist centrist forces, Mr. Semigin explained.
Quite a few other political parties and public movements plan to join the coalition in the near future, he added.
The first-ever opposition government boasting its own members, structure and methods of work, as well as an inter-faction deputy group, will be established on the basis of this coalition within the next several months, Mr. Semigin said. At the same time, the opposition government's structure, as well as specific principles and mechanisms for establishing an inter-faction deputy group inside the State Duma, will be specified still further, he explained.
Our project will differ considerably from the Government's structure because we don't perceive that structure as completely adequate; we have worked out our own model, Mr. Semigin stressed.
We have streamlined the relevant methodology of the opposition government's work so that government will be engaged in real-life work, implementing certain socio-economic projects. State Duma deputies will be appointed to some positions, taking part in the work of ministerial boards and the Russian cabinet, as well, he noted.
In May 2004 Gennady Semigin was expelled from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) for his alleged "dissident activities". Technically speaking, Mr. Semigin had to be expelled just because he wasn't affiliated with any grass-roots organization whatsoever. Moreover, Gennady Semigin, who owns the Vozrozhdeniye (Revival) foundation and the Vozrozhdeniye bank, was repeatedly accused of trying to bribe the KPRF leadership and of even waging an information war against the party. The KPRF is headed by Gennady Zyuganov.
