Presidential elections in Russia: years, candidates, results

Formation of the presidential form of government in our state was a difficult process, it happened relatively recently. At first, Russia was a monarchical power, headed by a king, and power was inherited. After the Great October Socialist Revolution was accomplished, the power in a state called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) became part of the Communist Party. The head of the country was the Secretary General.

This post lasted until the coming to power of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, who introduced the state of the post of president of the Soviet Union. He became both the first and last president of this state. Later, the post of state head was determined by presidential elections. Year in Russia, who participated and the results of voting - the topic of this article.

The very first presidential election in Russia

The very first presidential elections were held in June 1991, as a result of which Boris Yeltsin was elected to a high-ranking position. It should be noted that at that time Russia was a republic within the Soviet Union and was called the RSFSR. Mikhail Gorbachev did not participate in these elections. The presidential elections were appointed in accordance with the results of the referendum held in March of the same year.

There were six candidates for the presidency. Boris Yeltsin won with a break from the remaining contenders, among whom were Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Nikolai Ryzhkov, Aman Tuleyev, Albert Makashov, and Vadim Bakatin. All these figures left a trace in the political life of the country to some extent. For example, Zhirinovsky in 1993 came to the State Duma at the head of his party - the LDPR - and remained there to this day. Ryzhkov was also elected to the State Duma, and Tuleyev became governor of the Kemerovo region.

Presidential elections in 1996

The next presidential election was held five years after the very first election of the country's leader. Their outcome was the re-election of Boris Yeltsin.

Today many people argue about whether these elections were fair, whether there were frauds and falsifications. The fact is that at the time of 1995 the rating of the incumbent was very low and was about 3-6 percent. Also this year, elections to the State Duma took place, and the Communist Party (CPRF), led by Zyuganov, won the majority. It was expected that he would become the favorite of the 1996 presidential race. According to the results of the first round of elections, two out of 11 candidates were the best - Gennady Zyuganov and Boris Yeltsin. As a result, a second round was appointed, during which Yeltsin became president of Russia.

Among some of the supporters of the communist idea there is an opinion that the elections were rigged, and Zyuganov, who refused to "fight to the end," received a real victory.

In 1999, during the New Year's greetings, Boris Yeltsin announced to the country that he voluntarily resigned. Acting President Vladimir Putin was appointed.

Presidential elections at the turn of the century: 2000

The result of Yeltsin's resignation was early presidential elections, held in late March 2000. At the time of the start of the election campaign, 33 applications were submitted, of which 28 were nominated by pro-active civil groups, and the remaining five by political organizations and parties. Vladimir Putin was nominated not on behalf of the political party, but on behalf of the initiative group. Subsequently, 12 remained - the rest were not registered for one reason or another, but only 11 people took part in the elections. Shortly before the voting day, one of the candidates withdrew his candidacy.

The presidential election of 2000 brought victory to Vladimir Putin. The second place was taken by Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Communists.

Elections 2004

After a four-year term, a new election campaign began for the country's presidential election. In mid-March 2004, presidential elections were held. Candidates in fact did not represent any serious competition for the current head of state Vladimir Putin, which allowed him to re-elected for a second term. It should be noted that this time the CPRF nominated Nikolai Kharitonov instead of the unchanged Gennady Zyuganov. LDPR also acted in the same way - instead of Vladimir Zhirinovsky Oleg Malyshkin participated in the elections. There were also such candidates as Irina Khakamada, Sergei Mironov and Sergei Glazyev.

Elections-2008. The new president

According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the president does not have the right to run for a third term. In connection with this fact, the public was discussing the opinion of which of the candidates would be Vladimir Putin's "successor". At first it was assumed that Sergei Ivanov would become "Putin's candidate", but then Dmitry Medvedev appeared on the political arena. He was nominated from the political party "United Russia". In addition to him, Gennady Zyuganov from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Zhirinovsky from the LDPR and Andrey Bogdanov, a representative of the Democratic Party of Russia, took part, but ran as a self-nominated person. Thus, there were only four names on the ballot.

At the very beginning of March, 2 numbers, presidential elections were held. The results were quite predictable - Putin's protégé, Dmitry Medvedev, won. The second place was taken by Zyuganov, the third by Zhirinovsky, respectively, Bogdanov was the last.

The third term of Vladimir Putin

The next presidential elections in Russia took place in March 2012. Vladimir Putin, who was Prime Minister during Medvedev's reign, decided to participate in them. The text of the Constitution was interpreted in the following way, stating that the president can not be elected for more than two consecutive terms. As a result, it appeared that after Medvedev's presidency, the third term was "not in a row," and Vladimir Putin quietly put forward his candidacy for the elections. In addition to him, four more candidates took part: Zyuganov, Zhirinovsky, Mironov, and Mikhail Prokhorov, nominated in the order of self-nomination. The result was the victory of Putin, who is the president to this day.

It should be noted that a number of public and political figures recognized the elections as illegal, including because they were attended by Putin, who already served as president twice. On the eve of the inauguration, on May 6, a protest rally took place in Moscow, which grew into riots. However, there were no results, except for detentions and prison terms for the participants.

When will the next election be?

In 2008, a law was passed, according to which the term of office of the president was not 4 years, but as much as 6 years. As a result, the next presidential election in Russia will take place only in 2018. At the moment it is not known who will take part in them. Will Vladimir Putin run for a "second" term, will the CPRF and the LDPR nominate their leaders or choose new candidates - questions that do not yet have answers.