Yevgeny Sidorenko, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation, answers the questions of the parliamentary observer of the magazine - Evgeny Nikolaevich, the legal aspects of the upcoming State Duma elections are of increasing public interest. How, from a legal point of view, will the current election campaign differ from the previous ones? - Special attention to the legal aspects of preparing for the elections is caused by their significance for the future of Russia, the activity of political forces seeking to participate in them, as well as the incomplete formation of the legal framework for the election campaign. Since the fate of the law on political parties is extremely problematic and it is unlikely that it will be approved in the coming years, the main legal problems related to the elections are solved by making changes to the current laws. Last year, amendments were made to the Law on Public Associations. For the first time, the independent concept of a political party or organization appeared in it. The Law" On Basic Guarantees of electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to participate in a Referendum " specifies the requirements for political organizations and the conditions for their registration. The list of reasons why organizations can't get this status is included. In particular, a political party cannot be formed on professional or religious grounds; it must be a truly mass public organization. Moreover, the requirements for unprofessionalization apply both to the political association as a whole and to all organizations that are part of it. At first, there were attempts to circumvent this ban, to disguise participation in unions of trade unions and other structures that do not meet these requirements. But the Ministry of Justice took a principled position. - What is the purpose of the changes in the laws? - Their main purpose is to somewhat streamline the process of political struggle for elected posts, to remove ... Читать далее