Authors

Oleksiy Bondarenko¹;  ¹ University of Birmingham, UK

Discussion

The article examines the evolving role of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) within Russia’s authoritarian system of governance, particularly in response to the war in Ukraine. Until recently, the CPRF has performed as the main systemic opposition party, navigating a ‘dual commitment’ dilemma - balancing allegiance to both the regime and its voters - resulting in a constant oscillation between loyalty and opposition. While 2021 parliamentary elections saw the party capitalizing on this balancing act, the outbreak of full-scale war and intensifying repression contributed to the process of realignment, marking a shift toward greater ideological cohesion within the party and between the party and the regime. The article analyses how this realignment reshaped the CPRF’s position within the political system, affecting the party organizational structure and centre-region dynamics. By assessing the structural and ideological transformations within the CPRF along both vertical and horizontal dimensions, it contributes to broader debates on the function of systemic opposition in contemporary Russia. On the one hand, exogenous and endogenous shocks have constrained the systemic opposition’s room for manoeuvring, reinforcing the regime’s control over dissent. On the other hand, the realignment stripped the CPRF of its regime-stabilising function by eliminating channels of feedback and managed expression of dissent - crucial for Putin’s regime stability.