Democratization of political system in pre-election leaflets of the party of popular freedom (the cadets)

Abstract

The paper analyzes the Cadet party’s pre-election leaflets at the State Duma elections. The questions of the democratization of Russian political system took an important place in the leaflets. The Cadets openly propagandized the slogans of a general, equal, direct and secret electoral right which was basic for them on the elections to the first State Duma. On the elections to the second State Duma, the creation of a government responsible to the Duma became the main slogan of the Cadets. Along with it, the Cadets propagandized the need of the expansion of legislative and budgetary rights of the Duma, as well as the need of the democratization of judicial authorities. By speaking about the need of Russian political system’s democratization in detail and by putting those problems in the center of the election campaign, the Cadet party took a commitment to the voters to raise the issues in the Duma. This partly explains the fact that the Cadets brought to the Duma as many bills relating to the democratization of Russian political system, as all the other factions together.