TASS-FACTBOX. On December 7, 2023, the Russian Federation Council (upper house, or "senate," of the Federal Assembly, Russia’s parliament since 1993) adopted a resolution to officially designate March 17, 2024 as the date for the next election of Russia’s head of state. The document must now be officially published within five days in Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the Russia government’s official newspaper of record. From the date of the resolution’s publication, the election campaign for selecting Russia’s next president will officially kick off. TASS has prepared the following historical overview of modern Russia’s presidential elections since 1991.
General information, statistics
The office of president was established in Russia in the spring of 1991. Since then, presidential elections have been held seven times: in 1991, 1996, 2000 (early), 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2018. In 1996, a runoff vote was required to determine the winner.
In 1991, the president was elected for a term of five years. In 1993, the presidential term in office was reduced to four years, with the new rules coming into effect after the 1996 election. Since 2012, the Russian president has been elected to a six-year term.
Elections have been held on the basis of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the law On the Election of the President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) of April 24, 1991, the laws On the Election of the President of the Russian Federation of May 17, 1995, of December 31, 1999, and of January 10, 2003. Furthermore, election campaigns have been governed by the law On the Fundamental Guarantees of the Electoral Rights of Citizens of the Russian Federation of December 6, 1994, and the law On the Fundamental Guarantees of the Voting Rights and the Rights to Participate in Referendums of Citizens of the Russian Federation of June 12, 2002.
Throughout modern Russia’s electoral history, the number of registered presidential candidates has varied from a high of 11 in 2000 to just four in 2008. Three women have run as candidates for the presidency: Ella Pamfilova (2000), Irina Khakamada (2004) and Ksenia Sobchak (2018).
The highest voter turnout was recorded in 1991 (74.66%) and the lowest in 2008 (64.38%). The highest percentage of votes cast for the winning candidate was recorded in 2018: 76.69% for Vladimir Putin. Umar Dzhabrailov received the least number of votes in 2000 (0.10%).
Boris Yeltsin was elected as Russia’s first president in 1991. In 2008, Dmitry Medvedev assumed the highest state office. The current head of state, Vladimir Putin, has won four presidential elections (2000, 2004, 2012 and 2018).
RSFSR presidential election of June 12, 1991
The first presidential election in Russia's modern history was held on June 12, 1991.
The Central Election Commission (CEC, or known by its Russian abbreviation, Tsentrizbirkom) registered six presidential candidates. All of them ran in tandem with vice presidential candidates.
The following political figures took part in the election (hereinafter all candidate names are listed in the order they originally appeared on the ballot):
- Vladimir Zhirinovsky, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union (LDPSU, since 1992 the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, or LDPR), paired with Andrey Zavidiya, head of the Galand concern;
- Vadim Bakatin, member of the USSR Security Council and former USSR Interior Minister, with Ramazan Abdulatipov, chairman of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet (parliament) Council of Nationalities;
- Boris Yeltsin, chairman of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet, with Colonel Alexander Rutskoy, committee chairman in the RSFSR Supreme Soviet and leader of the Communists for Democracy parliamentary faction;
- Albert Makashov, Colonel General, commander of the Volga-Ural Military District, and people's deputy of the USSR, with Alexey Sergeev, department head at the Academy of Labor and Social Relations;
- Nikolay Ryzhkov, people's deputy of the USSR and former prime minister of the USSR, with Colonel General Boris Gromov, first deputy interior minister of the USSR and people's deputy of the USSR;
- Aman Tuleyev, chairman of the Kemerovo Regional Council of People's Deputies and people's deputy of the RSFSR, with Viktor Bocharov, head of the Kuzbassshakhtostroy Combine and people's deputy of the RSFSR.
The only candidate who was nominated by a political party, the LDPSU, was Vladimir Zhirinovsky. According to the law, he was required to either gather at least 100,000 signatures in his support or obtain the approval of at least one-fifth of the people's deputies of the RSFSR. On May 22, 1991, the 4th Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR supported Zhirinovsky's nomination (477 out of 930 in favor, 417 against, and 36 abstentions).
The other candidates were nominated by voters. Each of them collected the number of signatures required by law (at least 100,000) in their support.
A total of 106,484,518 people were included in the electoral lists, with a voter turnout of 74.66%.
Boris Yeltsin was elected the first president of the RSFSR with 57.30% (45,552,041) of the vote. Nikolay Ryzhkov came in second with 16.85% (13,359,335), and Vladimir Zhirinovsky came in third (7.81%; 6,211,007). A total of 1.92% of the voters (1,525,410) voted for the ballot option "Against all candidates," while 2.16% of ballots (1,716,757) were invalidated. The federal budget allocated 155 million rubles (valued in 1996 terms) for the 1991 presidential election.
On July 10, 1991, Boris Yeltsin was inaugurated as president in the Kremlin at the Fifth (Extraordinary) Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR.
Russian Federation presidential election of 1996 (held in two rounds on June 16 and July 3, 1996)
On June 16, 1996, the first round of the Russian Federation’s first regular presidential election took place.
The Central Election Commission initially registered 11 candidates. However, on June 13, 1996, one of them, Aman Tuleyev, chairman of the Kemerovo Regional Soviet (legislature), withdrew his candidacy in favor of Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) leader Gennady Zyuganov. Tuleyev's name was crossed out on those paper ballots that had already been printed. Ballots used in early voting were considered invalid.
As a result, 10 candidates ran in the election:
- Vladimir Bryntsalov, State Duma (lower house of the Federal Assembly) member (known as a "deputy") and president of the Ferein pharmaceutical company;
- Yury Vlasov, former weightlifter, writer and one of the founders of the People's Patriotic Union of Russia;
- Mikhail Gorbachev, president of the Gorbachev Foundation, former secretary general of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and first and last president of the USSR;
- Boris Yeltsin, incumbent Russian president;
- Vladimir Zhirinovsky, chairman of the LDPR and head of the party's faction in the State Duma;
- Gennady Zyuganov, chairman of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) Central Committee and head of the KPRF parliamentary faction;
- Alexander Lebed, Lieutenant General, State Duma deputy and chairman of the Honor and Motherland public movement;
- Svyatoslav Fedorov, State Duma deputy and director of the Eye Microsurgery Federal State Institution;
- Martin Shakkum, director general of the International Foundation for Economic and Social Reforms;
- Grigory Yavlinsky, chairman of the liberal Yabloko party and leader of its State Duma faction.
Eight candidates were nominated by citizens' initiative groups, while two - Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Grigory Yavlinsky - were nominated by the LDPR and Yabloko parties, respectively.
In the first-round election on June 16, 1996, 108,495,023 voters were registered, 69.81% of whom actually voted. Boris Yeltsin received the largest number of votes with 35.28% (26,665,495), followed by Gennady Zyuganov (32.03%; 24,211,686) and Alexander Lebed (14.52%; 10,974,736).
Since none of the candidates received the required number of votes (more than 50%) in the first round, a second-round election was scheduled, in which Yeltsin and Zyuganov faced off.
On July 3, 1996, the second-round vote took place. A total of 108,589,050 people were added to the voter lists, with a turnout of 68.88%. Boris Yeltsin, the incumbent head of state, was re-elected to his second term as president of Russia, receiving 53.82% (40,202,349) of the votes. Gennady Zyuganov received 40.31% (30,104,589). As many as 4.82% of voters (3,603,760) voted for the "Against all candidates" option, and 780,592 (1.05%) ballots were invalidated.
According to the Central Election Commission’s report, campaign expenditures amounted to 950.1 billion rubles.
Boris Yeltsin's inauguration was held in the Kremlin Palace of Congresses on August 9, 1996.
Early Russian Federation presidential election on March 26, 2000
The next presidential election was to be held on July 9, 2000. However, on December 31, 1999, President Yeltsin announced his resignation, making Prime Minister Vladimir Putin the acting president. On January 5, 2000, the Federation Council scheduled an early presidential election for March 26, 2000.
Eleven candidates took part in the election:
- Stanislav Govorukhin, film director and State Duma deputy;
- Umar Dzhabrailov, entrepreneur and president of the Group Plaza company;
- Vladimir Zhirinovsky, chairman of the LDPR and head of the party's State Duma faction;
- Gennady Zyuganov, chairman of the KPRF Central Committee and leader of the party’s State Duma faction;
- Ella Pamfilova, chairwoman of the presidium of the For Civil Dignity public association;
- Alexey Podberezkin, leader of the Spiritual Heritage social and political movement;
- Vladimir Putin, acting president of the Russian Federation;
- Yuri Skuratov, prosecutor general of the Russian Federation;
- Konstantin Titov, governor of the Samara Region and Federation Council member (known as a "senator");
- Aman Tuleyev, governor of the Kemerovo Region and senator;
- Grigory Yavlinsky, chairman of the Yabloko party and head of its parliamentary faction.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky was nominated by the LDPR, and Ella Pamfilova was nominated by the For Civil Dignity association. The other candidates were nominated by initiative groups of voters.
A total of 109,372,046 people were included in the voter lists, and the turnout was 68.70%.
Acting President Vladimir Putin won the March 26, 2000 election with 52.94% (39,740,467) of the vote. Second place went to Gennady Zyuganov with 29.21% (21,928,468), and third place went to Grigory Yavlinsky with 5.80% (4,351,450). A total of 1.88% of voters (1,414,673) voted for the "Against all candidates" option, while 701,016 (0.93%) ballots were invalidated.
According to the Central Election Commission, 1.42 billion rubles in state budget funds were spent on the preparation and holding of the presidential election.
On May 7, 2000, President Vladimir Putin commenced his first full term with his inauguration in the Andreyevsky Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace.
Russian Federation presidential election on March 14, 2004
On December 10, 2003, the Federation Council set the date for the next presidential election: March 14, 2004.
The CEC registered six candidates:
- Sergey Glazyev, head of the nationalist Rodina party’s faction in the State Duma;
- Oleg Malyshkin, State Duma deputy representing the LDPR;
- Vladimir Putin, incumbent president of the Russian Federation;
- Sergey Mironov, chairman of the Russian Federation Council and leader of the Russian Party of Life (RPL);
- Irina Khakamada, co-chair of the Union of Right Forces party in 2000-2003;
- Nikolay Kharitonov, State Duma deputy representing the KPRF.
Three candidates were self-nominated: Sergey Glazyev, Irina Khakamada and Vladimir Putin. The other candidates were nominated by their respective parties: Nikolay Kharitonov by the KPRF, Sergey Mironov by the RPL, and Oleg Malyshkin by the LDPR.
The number of voters on the lists amounted to 108,064,281, 64.38% of whom participated in the election.
On March 14, 2004, Vladimir Putin was re-elected to his second term as head of state with 71.31% (49,558,328) of the votes. Second place went to Nikolay Kharitonov (13.69%; 9,514,554), and third place went to Sergey Glazyev (4.10%; 2,850,610). A total of 3.45% of voters (2,397,140) chose the "Against all candidates" option, while 578,847 (0.83%) ballots were deemed invalid.
Budget expenditures for the presidential election amounted to 2.564 billion rubles.
On May 7, 2004, Vladimir Putin's second-term inauguration ceremony took place in the Andreyevsky Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace.
Russian Federation presidential election on March 2, 2008
On November 26, 2007, the Federation Council set the presidential election for March 2, 2008.
Four candidates ran in the election:
- Andrey Bogdanov, leader of the Democratic Party of Russia;
- Vladimir Zhirinovsky, chairman of the LDPR and State Duma deputy;
- Gennady Zyuganov, chairman of the KPRF Central Committee and head of the KPRF’s faction in the State Duma;
- Dmitry Medvedev, first deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation.
President Putin was constitutionally barred from running for office for a third consecutive term. Three candidates were nominated by political parties: Vladimir Zhirinovsky by the LDPR, Gennady Zyuganov by the KPRF, and Dmitry Medvedev by the ruling United Russia party. Andrey Bogdanov was the only self-nominated candidate; he submitted more than two million signatures of voters to the CEC in support of his registration as a candidate.
A total of 107,222,016 voters were included in the voting lists, with a turnout of 69.81%.
On March 2, 2008, Dmitry Medvedev was elected as the third president of Russia, receiving 70.28% (52,530,712) of the votes cast. Gennady Zyuganov came in second with 17.72% (13,243,550), and Vladimir Zhirinovsky was third with 9.35% (6,988,510).
A total of 1,015,533 (1.36%) ballots were invalidated. The "Against all candidates" option was abolished by amendments to electoral legislation of July 12, 2006.
The total federal budget expenditures for the election amounted to 4.939 billion rubles.
Dmitry Medvedev's inauguration took place on May 7, 2008 in the Grand Kremlin Palace.
Russian Federation presidential election on March 4, 2012
On November 25, 2011, the Federation Council scheduled the presidential election to coincide with elections for other offices on the Single Voting Day, designated as March 4, 2012.
The CEC registered five presidential candidates:
- Vladimir Zhirinovsky, chairman of the LDPR and head of the party's State Duma faction;
- Gennady Zyuganov, chairman of the KPRF Central Committee and head of the party’s State Duma faction;
- Sergey Mironov, leader of the A Just Russia-For Truth party and head of its State Duma faction;
- Mikhail Prokhorov, businessman and president of ONEXIM Group;
- Vladimir Putin, incumbent prime minister of Russia.
Four candidates ran from parliamentary parties, while Mikhail Prokhorov ran as a self-nominated candidate after filing more than two million signatures in his support with the CEC.
The number of voters amounted to 109,860,331, with 65.34% of voters taking part in the elections.
On March 4, 2012, Vladimir Putin was elected to his third term as president of the Russian Federation with 63.60% (45,602,075) of the vote. Gennady Zyuganov came in second (17.18%; 12,318,353), and Mikhail Prokhorov came in third (7.98%; 5,722,508). A total of 836,691 ballots (1.17%) were invalidated.
Federal budget funds allocated for the election amounted to 10.375 billion rubles.
On May 7, 2012, Vladimir Putin was inaugurated for the third time as president of Russia in the Grand Kremlin Palace.
Russian Federation presidential election on March 18, 2018
On December 15, 2017, the Federation Council set the date for the next presidential election: March 18, 2018.
The CEC registered eight candidates:
- Sergey Baburin, chairman of the conservative Russian All-People's Union party;
- Pavel Grudinin, director of the Lenin State Farm in the Moscow Region, representing the KPRF;
- Vladimir Zhirinovsky, chairman of the LDPR and head of the party's State Duma faction;
- Vladimir Putin, incumbent president of the Russian Federation;
- Ksenia Sobchak, television hostess and personality;
- Maxim Suraykin, chairman of the Central Committee of the left-wing Communists of Russia party;
- Boris Titov, presidential commissioner for entrepreneurs' rights and chairman of the pro-business Party of Growth;
- Grigory Yavlinsky, chairman of the Federal Political Committee of the liberal Yabloko party.
Vladimir Putin ran as a self-nominated candidate, while all other candidates were nominated by their respective parties. Pavel Grudinin ran on the KPRF line, while Ksenia Sobchak represented the Civic Initiative party.
There were 109,008,428 Russian citizens on the voting lists. The turnout amounted to 67.54%.
On March 18, 2018, President Putin was re-elected to his fourth term as head of state with 76.69% (56,426,399) of the votes cast. The second and third places went to Pavel Grudinin (11.77%; 8,658,732) and Vladimir Zhirinovsky (5.65%; 4,154,638), respectively. A total of 791,258, or 1.08% of all ballots, were invalidated.
According to the CEC, 14.259 billion rubles were spent from the federal budget to hold the elections.
On May 7, 2018, Vladimir Putin was inaugurated as president for the fourth time in the Grand Kremlin Palace.