Reconvening for a brief session following a week-long recess, the court announced that it would accept about 1, 000 files documenting the party's activities throughout its 70-year history. It selected the documents out of about 47 volumes of evidence presented by both sides in the case.
The chosen files are expected to detail the party's involvement in mass repressions carried out under Josef Stalin's rule, including purges within the party itself.
Documents recently released aim to show that the party leadership ordered the massacre of some 20, 000 polish officers and soldiers in the Katyn forest during World War II.
The court's 13 judges have now heard the testimony of over 50 witnesses and legal experts in the case, which was brought to the court by pro-Communist legislators who challenged President Boris Yeltsin's decrees banning the party's activities after the August 1991 coup.
Among those archives that the judges accepted for examination are a party order in 1977 to demolish the house in Yekaterinburg, where Russia's last czar, Nikolai II, was shot along with his family in 1918.
The court will reconvene Nov. 4 and will move toward closing arguments.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.