Russian President Dmitry Medvedev submitted a bill to parliament that would allow parties without seats in the legislature to participate in at least one session a year, the Kremlin said on Monday.

The bill was in line with small-scale political reforms that Medvedev has initiated since his predecessor, Vladimir Putin, steered him into the presidency in 2008.

Kremlin critics say the changes do little to alter the landscape of single-party dominance that Putin, who is now the powerful prime minister, shaped in eight years as president.

The proposed amendment to a law on political parties would allow registered parties without seats in the Duma, the lower house of parliament, to take part in a plenary session at least once a year, according to the state-run RIA news agency.

The same would apply to regional legislatures, it said.

The Duma, and politics throughout Russia, is dominated by Putin's United Russia party. Of the three other parties with Duma seats, only one -- the Communist Party -- regularly opposes government-backed legislation.

Some of the more outspoken opposition groups have been unable to register as parties or deprived of their party status because of onerous registration rules. They also say authorities often conspire against them.

Medvedev, who has also promised judicial reform, also introduced a bill to provide compensation for violations of the right to a quick trial and timely implementation of court rulings, Medvedev's office said.

It said the legislation would tackle what the European Court of Human Rights has called systematic violations of those rights, according to RIA.

Reuters