The Russian Party in Estonia (, VEE; ) was a minor centre-left political party in Estonia, representing the Russian minority.
History The party was originally established as the Russian National Union (; ), a right-of-centre party, in 1920.David James Smith, John Hiden (2012) Ethnic Diversity and the Nation State: National Cultural Autonomy Revisited, Routledge, p64 It received 1% of the national vote in the parliamentary elections that year,Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p582 winning a single seat in the Riigikogu.Nohlen & Stöver, p586
After Estonia regained independence after the fall of the Soviet Union the Russian Party of Estonia was established in 1994 as the legal successor to the Russian National Union.Janusz Bugajski (2002) Political Parties of Eastern Europe: A Guide to Politics in the Post-Communist Era, M.E. Sharpe, p78 For the 1995 elections the party formed the "Our Home is Estonia" alliance with the Estonian United People's Party.Nohlen & Stöver, p579 The alliance won six seats.
The party ran alone in the 1999 elections, receiving 2% of the vote but failing to win a seat.Nohlen & Stöver, p585Nohlen & Stöver, p587 The 2003 elections saw the party's vote share fall to just 0.2% as it remained without representation in the Riigikogu. It received 0.2% of the vote again in the 2007 elections and 0.9% in the 2011 elections, failing to win a seat on either occasion.
In 2012 the party merged into the Social Democratic Party.Social Dems Seal Merger with Russian Party Social Democratic Party
Election results Riigikogu Election Votes % Seats +/– Status 1920 8,623 1.8 (#9) – 1995 31,763 5.87 (#6) – 1999 9,825 2.03 (#9) 6 2003 990 0.20 (#11) 2007 1,084 0.20 (#10) 2011 5,029 0.87 (#7)
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