The Communist Party of the Russian Federation emerged on the 14th of February 1993 at the Second Extraordinary Congress of Russian Communists. This event marked the official birth of a successor organization to the banned Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Gennady Zyuganov has led the Communist Party of the Russian Federation since its inception in 1993. Before becoming party leader, he served as a harsh critic of Alexander Yakovlev on the CPSU Central Committee.
The current programme adapted in 2008 describes the Communist Party of the Russian Federation as left-wing nationalist. It supports state ownership over major industries while maintaining stable relationships with private companies and worker cooperatives.
In the 1995 legislative election, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation won 115 seats representing 22.30% of the vote. This made them the largest party in the State Duma until 1999 when they held 44 seats at 24.29%.
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation published a statement supporting the military action. As a result of endorsing the invasion, 55 of the 57 CPRF lawmakers including Zyuganov faced sanctions from multiple governments starting on the 17th of March 2022.