OREANDA-NEWS. April 30, 2009. Dmitry Medvedev signed amendments to the Federal law On Political Parties in connection with the reduction of the minimum membership requirement for parties.

Under the terms of the amendments, as from January 1, 2010, the minimum membership requirement for political parties will go down from 50,000 to 45,000. Parties are required to have regional branches in more than half of the country’s regions, and these regional branches’ minimum membership requirement will decrease from 500 to 450 people.

As from January 1, 2012, political parties’ minimum membership will be lowered again, to 40,000, and minimum membership in regional branches will drop to 400.

Under the Federal law, political parties’ charters must provide for rotation of the parties’ leadership posts, both at the national and regional level.