Russia’s political opposition is made up of a wide variety of different ideological groups. A small number, referred to as the "systemic” opposition, are parties that the federal government has granted official registration and have representatives in bodies of government. Despite technically counting as the opposition, most of these parties regularly toe the Kremlin line.

In contrast, Russia’s "non-systemic” opposition consists of an enormous number of political movements, organizations, and coalitions that have either been denied registration and are thus unable to participate in elections, or who don’t bother trying since they know they won’t be allowed to obtain it. Despite representing an extremely wide variety of viewpoints, what all of these groups have in common is that they are true alternatives to the current ruling regime.

In September, a group of four prominent opposition leaders announced the formation of a new coalitional party called "For Russia Without Tyranny or Corruption.” Coalition leaders said they intend to attempt to register the ...

Corruption in Russia has risen notably over the past year, according to a report released on Tuesday by the global civic organization Transparency International.

In the organization’s 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, Russia’s transparency rating fell from last year’s 2.2 to 2.1, on a scale of 0.0 (”highly corrupt”) to 10.0 (”very clean”). Additionally, it’s country ranking fell from 146 out of 180 countries to 154 out of 178 countries, landing between Papua New Guinea and Tajikistan.

Within Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Russia was ranked 16 out of 20, with the only countries more corrupt listed as Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

The organization estimates that market for corruption in Russia is worth $300 billion a year.

While authors of the report did not comment on individual countries, they advised overall that "governments need to integrate anti-corruption measures in all spheres, from their responses to the financial crisis and climate change to commitments by the international community to eradicate poverty” ...