A lawmaker in the State Duma for the A Just Russia party, Vladimir Parakhin, has announced he will leave the faction to become an independent deputy, joining seven others who broke ranks last May by voting to confirm Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister.
“I have made a step in the direction of Leonid Levin’s group in order to express my personal opinion, which more and more often is at odds with the opinion of the faction,” Parakhin said, referring to the elected leader of the seven former A Just Russia deputies.
Parakhin said the final straw was the party’s poor performance in elections held in a number of Russian regions on October 14, which he blamed on “the policies of the federal center of the party” and its focus on the political situation of the moment.
But the party, which has the third biggest faction in the Duma, still has a future.
“The time has come to change in the interest of voters and not of a group of individuals," he said.
"I came to the Duma to get work done. I will continue to do that as an independent deputy.”
