The next time you read a column by yet another Kremlin political fool going on about how "the opposition is being offered a chance to operate within the legal framework, but all it wants is to shout in the squares and refuses to take part in elections," please remember that on October 22, 2013, the Ministry of Justice refused to register the "December 5 Party."
http://minjust.ru/node/2540 So, the "December 5 Party" has joined the list of unquestionably real political organizations that the Ministry of Justice refuses to register as parties precisely because they are real political organizations. That list should include, at the very least, the "People's Alliance" and the "National Democratic Party". All of them have activists, supporters, and voters. All of them are capable of participating successfully in elections. But in order not to disturb the cozy little world of the established political landscape, they are denied registration. Meanwhile, blatantly fake parties are being registered in batches, including ones that do not even have the required 500 members. Take a look at this list of 74 registered parties, how many of them have you even heard of?
In the Moscow mayoral election, the "December 5 Party" supported me and, entirely on its own, organized campaign events at a level that surpassed the "systemic parties" (the officially sanctioned establishment parties). They always have people for pickets, they can raise money, and they have lawyers, organizers, local deputies, and political strategists. This is a real party. And that is exactly why they are being punished for being real. To my colleagues in the "December 5 Party"—sending support. You do not need "permission" to do the right thing. Let me remind you that right now the "People's Alliance" is being forced, for the third time, to hold a congress and go through all the organizational procedures, so that some petty crooks at the Ministry of Justice may once again deign to decide whether or not we have the right to be a party.