How many presidential elections have there been in Russia since 1990?
Since 1990, Russia has held seven presidential elections. Only the 1996 election required a second round; all others were decided in the first round.
Questions about Elections in Russia
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who has won Russian presidential elections and how many times?
Three presidents have been elected in Russia since 1991. Boris Yeltsin won in 1991 and 1996. Vladimir Putin won in 2000, 2004, 2012, 2018, and 2024. Dmitry Medvedev won in 2008.
Why did international observers not monitor Russian elections in 2007 and 2008?
The Russian government prevented the OSCE from monitoring the December 2007 legislative elections. In February 2008, the European Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights announced it would not send observers to the 2nd of March presidential election, citing severe restrictions imposed by the Russian authorities that its director said were "not conducive to undertaking election observation."
How did the presence of election observers affect United Russia's vote share in Russian elections?
A study by Enikolopov and colleagues found that United Russia received an 11% smaller share of the vote at polling stations where independent observers were present compared to stations without observers. The finding indicated that monitoring directly reduced fraudulent vote counts for the ruling party.
What is Russia's ranking on democracy indices?
The Economist Democracy Index classified Russia as authoritarian in 2022. V-Dem ranked Russia as the 22nd least electorally democratic country in Asia in 2023, with a score of 0.209 out of 1. Political scientists describe Russia's system as "competitive authoritarianism" or a hybrid regime.
Why was the 2024 Russian presidential election internationally condemned?
Russia conducted the 2024 election in territories of Ukraine that it militarily occupied. The United States, the UN Security Council, and a joint statement from Ukraine, the European Union, and 56 other countries condemned the votes as invalid, with UN deputy secretary-general Rosemary DiCarlo stating the elections were held "in manifest disregard for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity."