Moscow, January 22, 2001

Dear Members of Parliament,

On January 25 you will examine at first reading the draft of the federal law on political parties introduced by the President.

Many provisions of this draft of the law arouse the most serious doubts: these are the provisions on the opportunity to nominate candidates on elections by parties only; on the factual prohibition of the regional parties; on the minimum quantity of parties' members - 10 thousand registered members, and the minimum quantity of regional branches - 100 members.

However the most serious objection is aroused by the state financing of the parties from the federal budget provided by this bill.

We think that the political parties and organizations must be financed by those who share their political goals and not by taking the means by force from the pockets of tax-payers.

A party that depends economically from the state and not from those who believe in its political struggle, inevitably begins to take decisions without taking into account opinion of its members and supporters and maybe - even against this opinion. The budget financing, in our opinion, is destined to put the parties under the administrative control, to monopolize the "party market", to etatize, to bureaucratize and finally to suppress Russian multy-party system and the political activity of Russian citizens.

Two thirds of citizens who answered recently the questions of the Fund "Public opinion" - an absolute majority of your electors! - share our position opposing the state financing of the parties.

Presently we are launching an urgent civil campaign in a series of Russia's regions to collect signatures under the petition "No - to the state budget financing of the parties!" addressed to the members of the Federal Assembly (the text of the petition is enclosed). The Appeal already has been signed by MPs Sergej JUSHENKOV and Julij RYBAKOV; ex-members of Duma Valerij BORSCEV and Konstantin BOROVOJ; human rights activists Aleksandr PODRABINEK, Ljudmila ALEKSEEVA, Sergej SMIRNOV, Sergej GRIGORJANTS; Mark DEICH, journalist of Moskovskij Komsomolets; Aleksej SIMONOV, President of Glasnost Defence Foundation; Ida KUKLINA, Secretary of Union of Committees of Soldiers' Mothers; and other personalities.

Within the framework of this campaign we organize also direct appeals of the citizens to you, the deputies elected by them, calling to vote against any bill on parties providing budget financing of the parties. We are going also to inform activists' groups in different regions about the results of the voting in the State Duma concerning this bill.

We call you to vote against the draft of the federal law on political parties in any form providing the budget financing of the parties.

Nikolaj KHRAMOV

Russian coordinator of the Radical Party

Anna ZAJTSEVA

Treasurer of the Club Khramov - Association For Libertarian Reforms