In the midst of the war in Ukraine, launched two years ago by Moscow, Russian voters will have to decide on the name of the future president, from Friday March 15 to Sunday March 17. The outcome of the vote is beyond doubt, and Vladimir Putin is already assured of running for a fifth term. Eight candidates were in the running during the last election, in 2018, the year when the tenant of the Kremlin won by a wide margin, far ahead of the communist candidate (11.8%). This time again, the systemic opposition tolerated by the Kremlin should share a few votes, without much ambition.
Five parties can present candidates, without the need to provide citizen sponsorship signatures (United Russia, Liberal Democratic Party, Communist Party, New People and Fair Russia). Political figures invested by other parties, on the other hand, must collect between 100,000 and 105,000 signatures from citizens to present themselves. This was the case of the liberal Boris Nadejdine (Civil Initiative), whose candidacy was ultimately rejected. Finally, the “independents” had to collect 300,000 sponsorships – this is the case for Vladimir Putin. We present to you the four main candidates, validated by the Russian electoral commission.
Vladimir Putin (independent candidate)
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Collecting more than 300,000 signatures was a formality for the tenant of the Kremlin. His team claims that the president collected ten times more, even if the collection points, installed here and there in public spaces, often appeared empty. Vladimir Putin, 71, should easily win a new six-year mandate, which will allow him to stay in the Kremlin until 2030 (or even 2036 if he is still a candidate next time). Elected with 76.7% of the votes in 2018, the leader should once again fill up.
Leonid Sloutsky (Liberal Democratic Party)
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At the head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LPDR), a nationalist and conservative party, Leonid Sloutsky, 56, is running his campaign on the theme of small businesses, real estate ownership and standards. He does not blame the president at all, quite the contrary. “I dream of a victory for our military operation [en Ukraine]not a victory against Putin”he said at the end of December, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.
“Our task is to ensure that the election of the head of state is as legitimate as possible”, bluntly summed up LPDR MP Sergei Leonov, who willingly takes on this role of foil for his candidate. Anyway, “all those currently registered support [Vladimir] Putin to one degree or another”also recognized at the end of January an assistant of the candidate to the web media Vidsboku.
“Vladimir Putin is the most influential politician on the planet.”
Leonid Sloutsky, LPDR presidential candidateRIA Novosti
Leonid Sloutsky’s mission is therefore to interest public opinion in this election, by increasing the number of trips. The LPDR will also aim to take second place, traditionally reserved for the Communist Party. Which the Kremlin would also see favorably, writes the independent Russian-speaking media Meduza, citing sources in regional administrations and within the LPDR. But the MP comes from afar. Only 18% of those surveyed trust him, compared to 80% for Vladimir Putin, according to the Public Opinion Research Center VTsIOM.
In an attempt to make a name for himself, he makes outrageous comments on the current news. After a scandal surrounding a scantily clad jet-set evening, Leonid Sloutsky notably proposed depriving artists of their honorary titles if they behaved “unacceptable”. The politician was also accused of sexual harassment by several female journalists (BBC, RTVI, Dojd, etc.), but he was never sanctioned by the Duma ethics committee.
Nikolai Kharitonov (Communist Party)
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Aged 75, Nikolai Kharitonov was chosen to defend the traditional candidacy of the Communist Party. Since it is a parliamentary party, this veteran politician was exempted from collecting signatures. Already a candidate twenty years ago, in 2004 (13.8%), he then gave way to Gennadi Ziouganov.
This former agronomist ran a collective farm in the Novosibirsk region for more than twenty years, before participating in the creation of the Agrarian Party, then joining the Communist Party. Nikolai Kharitonov also received the rank of FSB colonel in the 2000s. One of his nephews also died in combat in Ukraine last July.
In particular, he proposed nationalizations and measures encouraging industry. This lackluster candidacy is of little interest, because the Communist Party actually supports the Kremlin’s policies. It’s hard to believe in the success of his campaign, even though it was called “Victory”. “I do not exclude that he himself could campaign for Vladimir Putin as the campaign progresses”estimates a Russian analyst quoted by a Novosibirsk daily. “I can’t say I’m better than Putin”the person concerned declared at the end of December, according to Russian media Sota Vision. Nikolai Kharitonov’s mission, in any case, is limited to winning second place. A task all the more delicate as the Kremlin seems to be looking for a new electoral servant.
Vladislav Davankov (New People)
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Aged 39, Vladislav Davankov is the youngest candidate. His party, New People, initially abstained during the vote on the recognition of the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk. But he later withdrew his statement and supported the invasion of Ukraine. His position on the war, from now on, is ambiguous to say the least. “Would I want peace at all costs? No”, he said during a meeting in St. Petersburg, according to the Russian news site Fontanka. He still insisted that the special military operation find a way out, without revealing his position.
Candidate for mayor of Moscow (5.4%) in 2023, this businessman is campaigning for increased freedom for businesses, reduction of administrative procedures, economic decentralization of the country and modernization. He also wants to increase education and health budgets. Does he intend to be vehement towards Vladimir Putin? Questioned at the end of December on the subject, Vladislav Davankov got away with a pirouette: “There is nothing to be gained from political criticism. These are methods from another era”he replied, as shown on Telegram by the RBK media group.
Vladislav Davankov has signed several declared candidates, including Boris Nadezhdine and the ecologist Anatoly Batashev, in order, he says, to support political pluralism. He also wants to unblock access to the Instagram network, banned since March 2022. “Everyone has a VPN these days anyway”he declared during a meeting.
The absents
Figure of the intelligentsia since the 1990s, Grigory Yavlinsky, the founder of the liberal Yabloko party, had made it known in December that his party would not present a candidate. At the end of the year, the electoral commission rejected the journalist’s candidacy Ekaterina Duntsova, activist for democracy and the end of the offensive in Ukraine. She then argued Boris Nadezhdinefailed after examination of his signatures.
The communist Sergei Malinkovich was also failed at this stage. Andrei Bogdanovof the enigmatic Russian Party of Freedom and Justice, threw in the towel. The environmental activist Anatoly Batachevindependent candidate, did not collect the 300,000 sponsorships required, just like the blogger specializing in beauty advice Rada Russkikh. The president of the nationalist Russian People’s Union party, Sergei Baburincalls to vote for Vladimir Putin, after having deposited his signatures, then withdrew his candidacy.
The anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny, main opponent of Vladimir Putin, is still languishing in a penal colony, from where he calls for demonstrations during the election. The nationalist Igor Girkin, sentenced to life imprisonment in the Netherlands for his responsibility in the Malaysia Airlines crash in 2014, is serving a four-year prison sentence, announced in January, after insults addressed to the Russian military command. Former militia boss Wagner, Evgeni Prigozhindid not have time to reveal his possible intentions, since he died in August in a plane crash.