On August 22nd the Russian Libertarian Party was founded, with Vladimir V.
Didenko appointed as its founding Chairman. The party name, Rossiyskoye Libertarianskoye Dvizhenie (RLD), means Russian
Libertarian Movement.
Didenko, a former lawyer, is now Vice-President of the Institute of Natiology in Moscow
(a libertarian think tank).
RLD organizing committee member Igor Souzdaltsev reported that
on August 25th, 2003, the Russian Ministry of Justice confirmed official registration of the RLD as the first libertarian party in
Russia. The party went public with a Moscow news conference on September 6th.
Dikenko reports that the new party offices are located on the campus of the biggest university
in Russia, Moscow State University.
On September 9th, 2003 Vladimir Didenko was nominated as a first libertarian candidate for the
Gosudarstvennaya Duma (Russian House of Representatives, election date is December 7, 2003). His electoral district is University
Electoral District # 201 in Moscow.
Major platform planks call for the establishment of widespread property rights, and the
right of citizens to keep and bear arms.
Didenko explained: "We believe that the liberation of the Russian people is the only way for
us to survive as a nation. But it's really a difficult task because Russians were slaves for exactly 1,000 years from Rurik's
inauguration in the year 862 right up to 1861. That year Russian Emperor Alexander II signed The Manifest of 19 February which
provided ordinary Russians with the property rights for the first time in our history. As you may know, when European nations needed
a word for 'slave' in the 14th Century, they created it on the basis of the word 'Slav' (a person of Slavic origin)."
He went on to say that these historical facts were a major factor in why liberal ideas in Russia
have always enjoyed little recognition or support from the state or the public at large.
"The tradition of 'redistribution of wealth by the state' is still alive," he stated.
Both fear that the Communist party could win parliamentary elections
again, but are confident that the Rossiyskoye Libertarianskoye Dvizhenie will make a credible showing
in the upcoming elections.
Their electoral district is centered in Russia's university district — which reportedly is the most libertarian area in the country. Almost 90,000 out of the 455,000 voters in that district are students (young open-minded
people).
But it will be a difficult struggle for the Russian libertarians. The political voting structure is much like that of the United States — i.e. single-member districts (winner takes all). Their prospects would be better with proportional representation, such as the system that enabled libertarians to win 6 seats in Costa Rica.
We will keep our members posted of developments in future issues of the Freedom Network News.
RLD
1 – Leninskie Gory, MGU,
Bld. 53, office 337A
Moscow, 119234, Russia
Phone/fax: +7-095-939-3533
libertarian@narod.ru
http://libertarian.narod.ru
Note: Both Souzdaltsev and Didenko attended the ISIL conference in Vilnius, where they were able to meet and compare notes with libertarian activists from throughout the world — including members of the Costa Rican Movimiento Libertario.
International Society for Individual Liberty
>
Russian Libertarian Movement Founded
