Irina Khakamada, leader of the Obshcheye Delo (Common Cause) Duma bloc made the criticism at the same time she announced she would not be running for president.
Speaking at the Nevskoye Vremya press club, Ms Khakamada said the West seemed to have been lulled by communist promises to support free markets.
"The opinion of Western experts on Russia living in the West and Western experts who live in Russia are two different things," she said.
She said the results of December's parliamentary elections have led Western analysts to conclude that no substantive changes have been made in Russia in the past five years.
This stance fails to understand the kinds of changes Russia will undergo should Mr Zyuganov be elected president in June, she said.
"This would mean government monopolies on international trade, strict state control of banks, more attempts at renationalization of property," Ms Khakamada said. (SPP)