V.G. Bondarev, R.A. Sapharov The Matter of Legislative Definition of Political Activities in the Russian Federation

Abstract: This article substantiates the necessity of legislative definition of the term “political activities\’ and the presence thereof and the legal grounds for its implementation in the legislation of the Russian Federation.Attention was drawn to the downsides by which political activities are defined in the revised Federal Law of the Russian Federation, dated 12th January 1996 No. 7-FZ “On Non-Commercial Entities”. The authors believe that it is necessary to change the way of defining the extent of the political activities\’ meaning and propose, above all, to include the activities of political figures and other persons whose actions in political relations are of a professional nature. These persons must be reflected in the law of the Russian Federation on political activities, as specific managers thereof. This is supported by a number of political figures of Russia. Facts and information on the legal regulation of political activities in the USA and the UK were provided in the article.The authors provide a comprehensive definition of the political activities and reasoning thereof, state general types of political activities, and provide regulations associated with the legal regime for the purposes of its execution. They propose the legalization of lobbying activities in Russia, due to the fact that it is an extremely important type of activity.It was noted that the supervision over the elections was only executed by the professionals in election law and voters\’ behavior; and by means of conflict management they can optimize the election process in Russia, but in order to do so, these persons must be provided with the status of managers of political activities.The article was written using a considerable amount of the regulatory documents and other information sources. As research methods, the authors used: (a) the examination of the regulatory and legal instruments and legal literature; and (b) the legal evaluation of the provisions regulating political relations in Russia and other countries.The authors\’ proposals in relation to the definition of the term “political activities”, the extent of the meaning thereof and legal grounds for its implementation are well-reasoned and may be used in the lawmaking process of the Russian Federation.

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