demonstration in
Izhevsk The party was established in October 2001 under the name '''Russian Communist Workers' Party – Revolutionary Party of Communists''' (; abbreviated , ) through the unification of the
Russian Communist Workers' Party, the Russian Party of Communists and the Union of Communists with the aim of resurrecting socialism and the
Soviet Union. In the
1999 Duma election, the party won 2.2% of the total vote, getting 1,481,890 votes overall. The RCWP-CPSU considers the
Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) to be
reformist, but for the occasion of the
2003 Duma election the party leaders decided to make an agreement with the CPRF in order not to disperse the communist vote. In 2007, the party was de-registered by the
Justice Ministry. In 2010, the RCWP-CPSU co-founded
Russian registered political party Russian United Labour Front (ROT Front), which is led by
Viktor Tyulkin. In April 2012, the party took its current name. During the
protests following the
2020 Belarusian presidential election, RCWP called on the workers of Belarus not to allow the protests turn into a "Belarusian Maidan on the model of Kiev," referring to 2013–14
Euromaidan protests in Ukraine. In 2021,
Stepan Malentsov was elected the new First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Workers' Party (RCWP-CPSU) as it was decided at the XII (XXII) Congress that took place in
Moscow.
Positions on the Ukraine Invasion The party supported the recognition of the
Donetsk People's Republic and the
Luhansk People's Republic by
Russia, stating that it is a decision taken "much later than it should have been, but better late than never." RCWP opposed the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine by announcing: "we have no doubts that the true aims of the Russian state in this war are quite imperialistic — to strengthen the position of imperialist Russia in world market competition..." and the party called for an end to "
fratricidal conflicts." In 2022, the youth wing of the RCWP split from the party due to its support for the ongoing
Russo-Ukrainian War. On 28 September 2023, former members of the RCWP and OKP, who left these parties due to disagreement with the leadership's position on the Ukrainian conflict, issued a joint statement "For the revolutionary renewal of the communist movement in Russia," which proclaimed a course for the creation of a new communist party. They later formed the
Russian Communist Party (Internationalists). The founding congress of the RCP(i) was held on 22–23 June 2024. == See also ==