The Fair Russia party has expelled two of its leading members, the father and son Gudkovs, for participating in street protests and cooperating with non-parliamentary opposition.

      Gennady and Dmitry Gudkov were ejected from the party after failing to respond to a warning issued over a month ago. Fair Russia told them and two more top party members – Ilya Ponomaryov and Oleg Shein - to decide if they are going to remain in the party or in the semi-formal Opposition Coordination Council that they recently sided with.

      Dmitry Gudkov currently represents Fair Russia in the Lower House. His father Gennady Gudkov was elected to the State Duma in 2011 but lost the seat in September 2012 over allegedly continuing to run his business which is forbidden for Russian parliamentarians. However, he continued to work as the faction's member.

      The decision to purge Gudkovs out of Fair Russia was made by the party’s Central Council Presidium on Wednesday and the vote was almost unanimous. In the recent press conference Dmitry Gudkov suggested that even after leaving the party he would keep the parliamentary mandate and will become and independent MP as Russian law allows.

      At the same time, Fair Russia MP and also an active street protester, Ilya Ponomaryov, has announced his decision to suspend his membership of the Fair Russia party and form his own faction called “the Alternative”.