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Election Date: March 13, 2004

At stake: President

Background

On Dec. 7, 2003, Russian citizens renewed their State Duma for the third time since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Communist Party was the clear winner in the two previous votes, held in 1995 and 1999.

Final results indicate the populist United Russia (YR)—a new name for the Inter-Regional Movement of the Russian Federation—dominated the parliamentary contest. The pro-Kremlin political organization got 37.6 per cent of the vote, and secured 222 members in the 450-seat Duma.

The Communist Party (KPRF) was a distant second, with 12.6 per cent and 51 seats, followed by Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democrats and the newly formed Motherland - National Patriotic Union (MDRT). Each of these four political organizations received more than five per cent of all cast ballots, allowing them to place proportional representation members in the Duma.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) claimed the election outcome was "overwhelmingly distorted" because of the "enormous advantage of incumbency" enjoyed by United Russia, a party that openly supports president Vladimir Putin. The Duma vote was the first test for Putin's new electoral law, which requires all media outlets to provide equal coverage to all political organizations.

The current head of state was the clear favorite for re-election, with the support of close to 70 per cent of respondents in most voter surveys. The president was supposed to compete against nine rivals, but faced six for most of the campaign, and only five on election day. Two candidates—pharmaceutical multimillionaire Vladimir Bryntsalov and businessman Anzori Aksentyev-Kikalishvili—unexpectedly withdrew from the contest, and Viktor Gerashchenko was declared ineligible on Jan. 28, because he was backed by a bloc, and not a registered political party.

The remaining candidates were Sergei Glazyev of Rodina, Irina Khakamada of the Union of Right Forces (SPS), former secretary of the Russian Security Council Ivan Rybkin, Nikolai Kharitonov of the Communist Party, Oleg Malyshkin of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), and Federation Council speaker Sergei Mironov, who openly supports Putin's re-election.

On Feb. 6, a bomb exploded inside the Moscow underground system during rush hour, killing at least 39 people and injuring 105 more. Putin blamed the blast on "Chechen terrorists," even mentioning fugitive leader Aslan Maskhadov as the likely culprit.

On Feb. 8, the 57-year-old Rybkin was reported missing. The disappearance brought back memories of the fate of two politicians—Liberal Russia's Sergei Yushenkov and Vladimir Golovlyov—who were shot and killed in 2002 and 2003 respectively. Rybkin reappeared on Feb. 10, saying he had made a quick visit to Ukraine. On Feb. 13, the candidate alleged that he was drugged and held against his will during his visit to Kiev, where he was supposed to meet with Chechen leader Maskhadov for peace talks.

A grievance filed by Khakamada and Kharitonov to the Central Election Commission was summarily dismissed. The candidates alleged that since state broadcaster Rossia showed a campaign address by Putin to a nationwide audience on Feb. 12, they both should receive the same treatment under existing regulations.

Russian electoral laws guarantee equal time in state broadcasts for all contenders. On Feb. 23, Khakamada threatened to take legal action against the Central Election Commission for its handling of the complaint.

On Feb. 24, Putin sacked prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov. The announcement marked the first time the current president changed the head of government during his tenure. Deputy Viktor Khristenko took over on an interim basis.

On Feb. 26, Khakamada filed a lawsuit in a Moscow court to complain about the "inactivity" of the Central Election Commission. The conservative candidate claimed her grievance regarding equal time in state broadcasts for all election contenders was not properly interpreted.

On Mar. 1, Putin named Mikhail Fradkov as prime minister. The 53-year-old Fradkov worked previously as minister of foreign economic relations and minister of trade. The appointment was ratified by the State Duma on Mar. 5.

On Mar. 4, a loose assembly of lawmakers and journalists known as the 2008 Free Elections group, urged Russians to boycott the presidential election. The group was led by chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, and argued that the vote would be a "farce."

On Mar. 5, Rybkin returned to Russia and officially withdrew from the election. Rybkin claimed that performing as an opposition candidate was "very difficult" under the current circumstances.

On Mar. 11, Putin appealed to voters to participate in the election in a nationally televised address. A turnout of 50 per cent was required for the ballot to be valid.

On Mar. 14, Russians headed to the polls all over the country. Putin called on the electorate to make a "responsible choice" after casting his own ballot in Moscow. Central Election Commission chief Alexander Veshnyakov stated that the turnout across the nation had reached 51.73 per cent halfway through the day, making the vote legal. About 1,000 international observers, including 400 representatives from the OSCE, participated as monitors.

The Central Election Commission released final results on Mar. 23, which gave Putin 71.31 per cent of all cast ballots, and 13.69 per cent to Kharitonov. 3.45 per cent of the votes were registered in the "against all candidates" category.

OSCE chief observer Julian Peel Yates said the election did not meet the standards "necessary for a healthy, democratic process," and stated that the campaign lacked "vibrant political discourse and meaningful pluralism." Voter turnout was tabled at 64.3 per cent.

The 52-year-old Putin is constitutionally barred from governing beyond 2008, but with United Russia controlling the Duma, a change in term limits could be explored.

Political Players

President: Vladimir Putin
Prime minister: Mikhail Fradkov

The president is elected to a four-year term by popular vote.

Legislative Branch: The Federalnoe Sobranie (Federal Assembly) has two chambers. The Gosudarstvennaya Duma (State Duma) has 450 members, elected to four-year terms; 225 members elected in single-seat constituencies and 225 members elected by proportional representation. The Sovet Federatsii (Federation Council) has 178 members, two delegates for each region.

Results of Last Election:

President - Mar. 14, 2004

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