Russian Partisanship. Introductory Remarks to its Traditions and Theory

The article presents description of problems and difficulties that are related to the study of Russian political parties, and offers a characterization of the traditions of Russian party politics. The text is not structured so as to suggest a new theory; rather, it intends to define basic (temporal, space, and content) characteristics of Russian political parties and to outline troubles that are to be met in the study of Russian partisanship as a specific topic within social sciences. Paragraphs on the genesis of Russian partisanship can serve as a sample of a possible elaboration of a particular part of the topic, thus opening space for common system analysis and classification of political parties. In terms of methodology, it is necessary to choose between (1) constructing new theories and such an approach towards Russian reality that sees it as a unique and incomparable phenomenon, and (2) confronting political science theories (particularly in the field of -transitology) with data given by the practices of Russian politics and, consequently, applying the data to the broader post-Soviet reality. The author opts for the latter possibility.