Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF), expressed readiness to merge with A Just Russia – For Truth (SRZP) if the communist program is accepted. This was reported by RIA Novosti.
He stated that if the leaders of SRZP agree to implement the KPRF program, a joint formation could be considered. He noted that the Communist Party’s program has been published and its materials are widely known. He invited SRZP to evaluate their proposals and present them to the KPRF for discussion.
On the eve of July 27, SRZP leader Sergei Mironov indicated that unification with the Communist Party was necessary. He argued that a merger between the two parties could be essential, and that the proposal for unification had been in consideration for a long time.
Mironov also suggested that a grand coalition of left wing patriotic forces in Russia was possible, and that there were no clear obstacles to creating such a union in the political landscape. He added that the duration of any merger would depend on the communists themselves.
He explained that the stance of a portion of the Communist Party leadership had slowed progress, delaying a definite continuation of the process. The timing of any unification, he said, would be determined by the members of the Communist Party.
Back in June 2021, Zakhar Prilepin, co-founder of the For Truth movement, had proposed collaboration with the Communist Party. The communists declined at that time. Gennady Zyuganov later remarked that to form a coalition, Prilepin would need to leave his current party, since the left-wing patriotic movement had already been established by the communists themselves.
Prilepin responded in a letter that the SRZP and the Communist Party shared very few ideological differences. At the start of 2021, Just Russia, For Truth, and Patriots of Russia held congresses to discuss unification and announced the creation of a new left-wing patriotic political force. Sergei Mironov became its leader, while Zakhar Prilepin and Gennady Semigin were named co-chairmen. The idea of uniting Just Russia with the Communists had been debated since the mid-2000s.
In May 2007, during a pivotal congress of the Russian Socialist United Party, which later joined Just Russia, Mironov announced a plan to build a broad alliance of left forces and expressed willingness to unite with the communists. In response, Ivan Melnikov, then First Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, stated that the Communist Party would not merge with the Socialist-Revolutionaries, asserting that Mironov’s project did not represent a sincere left-wing movement. He added that Mironov’s so-called left wing consisted largely of unemployed officials and ambitious politicians posing as leftists.
In October 2010, Mironov reiterated that a rapprochement between Just Russia and the Communist Party would occur, expressing a firm belief that such a union was inevitable in time.