Remembering March 18, 2018, we can say with confidence that practically no one doubted the results of voting for candidates for the number 1 state post in our country. After all, the presidential race that year did not bring any surprises to Russian voters, and the overwhelming majority of votes went to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, as a person with an almost infinite credit of political trust.
The history of election to the post of President of Russia has seven campaigns, starting in 1991. And the current leader of the state, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, was first elected to this position in March 2000. It was after B. N. Yeltsin, the current President of the Russian Federation no longer left big politics. He was re-elected four years later and was re-elected. And even during the presidency of D. A. Medvedev, which lasted from 2008 to 2012, V. V. Putin fulfilled his duty to our country as Prime Minister.
Since 2012, he has been re-elected head of state for a six-year term. And the last elections for the post of President of Russia took place on March 18, 2018. And again V. V. Putin received the unconditional support of the citizens of our country, taking on the state position No. 1.
Since the presidential race implies not only the election of the most titular office in the country, but also powerful coverage of the entire political life, many party leaders use this landmark event, trying to leave the brightest trace in the hearts and minds of their electorate. Residents of the country with an understandable cyclicality got acquainted with new electoral technologies and programs that were being implemented by various political groups as part of their budget campaigns. In 2018, for example, V. V. Putin appeared before the country's voters in his usual working regime, while P. N. Grudinin regularly visited Bolshevichka, and K. A. Sobchak took a fancy to Washington.
The history of the institution of the Presidency in Russia has various rules for holding this post. So, in 1991, this position implied a five-year term of government, and in 1993 this time was reduced to four years (the norm came into force in 1996). Accordingly, the elections in 2000, 2004 and 2008 were held in this format. But in 2008, tenure amendments were again made, which came into force in 2012 and amounted to a six-year term of office.
The era of Yeltsin
The first elections for the head of our state took place on June 12, 1991. The voting lists contained about one hundred and seven million people. The turnout was 75%. Six pairs of candidates participated in the election campaign (both the president and the vice president were announced in one pair), which were approved by the CEC. Then Boris Yeltsin, paired with Alexander Rutskoi, scored 46 million votes, which amounted to 57% of the total number of voters. The second place was taken by Nikolai Ryzhkov (former Prime Minister of the USSR) and Boris Gromov, who received just over 16% of the vote. And the third place (8% of the votes) remained with V. V. Zhirinovsky and A. F. Zavidii. The 1991 presidential race cost the state treasury 155 million rubles.
The country next elected its state leader on June 16, 1996. At that time, the voter lists contained one hundred and nine million people. The elections were remembered by ten candidates, including the current President of the Russian Federation B. N. Yeltsin, and the departure at the last moment from the distance of the presidential race of Aman Tuleyev. The most prominent personalities who then acted as candidates for the post of President of Russia were Gorbachev, Zhirinovsky, Zyuganov and Yavlinsky. In the first round of voting, Yeltsin won only 35% of the votes (most of all), which was the reason for the second round. After all, the regulations for the election of the President of the Russian Federation implied the line of validity of the elections, which was equal to a level exceeding 50% of the vote. The re-election took place on July 3, 1996. With the result of 54% of the votes of the authorized Russians, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin won.
The beginning of a new era
The beginning of the new millennium in 2000 was marked for our country by the early elections of the President of the Russian Federation. Then B. N. Yeltsin announced his early resignation on the last day of 1999. And elections were scheduled for March 26, 2000. The presidential race with eleven candidates was won by the acting head of our state, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Then he got 53% of the vote. And the expenses of the Russian budget for the presidential campaign were then estimated by the CEC at one billion four hundred and twenty million rubles. A new era of Russia has begun!
The presidential elections on March 14, 2004 were remembered for the fact that the voter list contained more than one hundred and eight million people, and the ballots indicated six candidates. It is interesting that in that year the political long-liver V. V. Zhirinovsky prudently missed the presidential race, believing, most likely, that its outcome was completely predetermined. Then V. V. Putin won a landslide victory with 71% of the vote. And the country's budget "felt better" by two and a half billion rubles. Analysts of the Electoral Commission then stated that there is a steady trend towards an increase in expenses for the election of the President of the Russian Federation.
The elections to the post of the head of the Russian state in 2008 were significant in that the current President of the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution, could not participate in them for the third time in a row. Therefore V. V. Putin was subsequently appointed President-elect of Russia D. A. Medvedev as head of the Russian government. Medvedev confidently won those elections, gaining 70% of the votes (52.5 million people). In addition, it was these elections that became the first in the history of Russia when the line “against all” disappeared from the ballots. And the CEC has estimated the costs of the presidential race at five billion rubles.
2012 elections
It is interesting that in recent years it is the first month of spring that has been an elective one. This happened in 2012, when the next elections of the President of the Russian Federation were scheduled for March 4 by the Federation Council. Among the five candidates registered by the CEC were Zyuganov, Zhirinovsky and Prokhorov.
With the result of 64% of the votes, Vladimir Putin again went to the presidency. And the country's budget has said goodbye to more than ten billion rubles.
Latest presidential elections
The next and last to date elections of the President of the Russian Federation were held on March 18, 2018. According to the new constitutional provision, the popularly elected head of state will serve for six years. In the modern history of Russia, these were the seventh elections of the President of the Russian Federation, which were held in the legal format of direct and equal, universal and secret ballot.
The following eight candidates were admitted to the presidential race by the Central Election Commission:
- Vladimir Putin, self-nomination initiative group;
- Pavel Grudinin, Communist Party;
- Vladimir Zhirinovsky, LDPR;
- Grigory Yavlinsky, Yabloko;
- Sergei Baburin, Russian National Union;
- Ksenia Sobchak, Civil Initiative;
- Boris Titov, Party of Growth;
- Maxim Suraikin, "Communists of Russia".
According to official data published by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, the current President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin won the first round of voting, collecting 76.69% of the votes of voters who took part in the voting procedure. Thus, V. V. Putin was elected for a second term (in a row, and the fourth time in total, given his presidency from 2000 to 2008).
The next time the country will vote for the President of the Russian Federation on March 17, 2024.
