партия vs фракция

[cle-fable.livejournal.com]

Me again,

I've noticed in my text that a the word фракция is used a lot where you might expect parties.  Here is a list of the groups it is used with:

People's Deputy, Regions of Russia, Fatherland All-Russia - I know these parties joined United Russia ultimately but at one point, to get into the Duma in the first place, they must have been parties mustn't they?

Another word that's used is аграрии- the Agrarians.  In English it's often translated to the Agrarian group - they must have a party, or is it an alliance of several?  It sounds very unspecific as it is.
 
Thanks

Comments

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Agrarian party did exist until last week, when thei officially joined the United Russia. Fatherland All-Russia is a fraction that unites members of several small parties and movements. Note that besides political parties, Russian political system also includes political movements (those organizations who do not meet strict party registration standards in terms of their membership numbers and, more important, their representation in all 83 Federation subject regions.)

[cle-fable.livejournal.com]

Was People's Deputy a sub-group of the People's Party. And if Regions of Russia were not an officially registered party (which I get the impression they weren't) do you know who they joined forces with to get into the Duma?

[anonymous8216.livejournal.com]

Фракция means "all representatives of a given party/bloc in the parliament". Another meaning is "a group within a political party", but this is not what is meant here.

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

No idea. And not that I was really interested in it, too :) I just wrote what I knew, which wasn't much. I'm afraid you need real specialists in this case. After all, this community is Learn_Russian, not Russian_Political_System :)

[cle-fable.livejournal.com]

Your comments are helpful nevertheless. I'm coming to the end of my political questions anyhow :)

[pinky-the-cow.livejournal.com]

"Фракция" comprises Duma members which share the same party membership. They're not interchangeable.
You can't say party, when you refer to a handful of people, party is larger than that. Hence in news people report, that "фракция" of some party had proposed this and that and voted this-a-way.
In "фракция" there are usually uniform decisions reached before proceeding to an actual Duma work.

Oh, and I shudder at the sight of those party names translation >_<.
"Yabloko", not "Apple" is an obvious path for me. Despite the fact that russians translate all those "республиканцы", "демократы", "ХСС" etc.
My guess, it's beter to translate only those names which denote political platforms in them.
Like Communist Party of Russian Federation is okay, but Otechestvo Vsya Rossiya is what I'd go with.