Russia’s Justice Ministry registered the Republican Party of Russia – People’s Freedom Party (RPR-PARNAS) political party on Thursday, comprising the former People's Freedom Party and the Republican Party, the ministry said on its website, RIA Novosti reports.
The new party - which was created after a merger during the wave of recent anti-Kremlin protests - could allow some of Russia’s most well-known liberal opposition leaders to once again contest elections.
Boris Nemtsov – one of Vladimir Putin’s most fierce critics, former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, Vladimir Ryzhkov and Vladimir Milov agreed to set up Parnas in 2010. The party’s co-chairs – each of whom led their own political movement – decided to create the coalition in order to increase the chance of right-wingers being elected to the#mce_temp_url# State Duma.
