1995 Russian legislative election in the context of Communist Party of the Russian Federation

Within Russian political parties, liberal parties advocate the expansion of political and civil freedoms and mostly oppose Russian president Vladimir Putin. In Russia, the term "liberal" can refer to wide range of politicians, from the centre-right and proponents of shock therapy to left-liberals and progressives. The term "liberal democrats" is often used for members of the far-right nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. There are Russian opposition and pro-government liberal political parties in Russia. Pro-government liberal politicians support Putin's policy in economics.

There are no liberal factions in Russian parliament at the moment. Centre-left liberalism was represented in the State Duma of Russian parliament by the Russian United Democratic Party "Yabloko" (7.86% in 1993 election, 6.89% in 1995, 5.93% in 1999). Pro-government liberalism was represented by the Our Home – Russia (10.13% in 1995 election), the liberal political party founded by Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. Centre-right liberalism was represented by the pro-capitalist party Democratic Choice of Russia (15.51% in 1993) and its successor, the Union of Right Forces (8.52% in 1999 election).Yabloko and the Republican Party of Russia – People's Freedom Party are members of Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party. Yabloko is also a member of Liberal International. Since Vladimir Putin's rise to power in 2000, many liberal parties and politicians have been persecuted.

Legislative elections were held in Russia on 19 December 1999 to elect the 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly. Like in the previous elections in 1995, the electoral system resulted in many parties competing for the proportional seats and a significant number of independent deputies elected.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation experienced major losses in the election, and for the first time since the dissolution of the Soviet Union a solid majority emerged in the State Duma that supported economic reforms towards a market economy. The result was favorable for President Boris Yeltsin and solidified the popularity of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ahead of the 2000 presidential election. Although the Communists still had the largest number of seats, the Unity party, endorsed by Putin, was in a close second. The Fatherland - All Russia bloc of former prime minister Yevgeny Primakov and Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov was in third place, followed by the Union of Right Forces, led by former prime minister Sergey Kiriyenko. Several small parties also won seats.