How did the first presidential elections take place in Russia?

Presidential elections in the Russian Federation will be held between March 15-17. Every Russian citizen who has reached the age of majority by the voting day and is included in the voter lists will be able to vote for a candidate. Seven such votes have been held in our country so far. And the first of them happened on June 12, 1991. Then 80 million people showed up to vote for the new head of state (the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, still within the USSR). These were the first elections held on the basis of democratic principles of universal, direct and secret suffrage. Boris Yeltsin won by a margin of 40.45%. In this material we remember what the first presidential vote in the history of our country was like.

The election campaign began in an environment of inflation and confiscatory currency reform. “The shelves in the stores are empty, basic necessities are rationed or sold under the counters. Thanks to the transformation initiated by Gorbachev, highly skilled workers and engineers began to be driven to the streets. Speaking with Yeltsin, vice-presidential candidate Alexander Rutskoy recalls the situation in the country.

The timing of the election campaign was very tight; about two months. However, the struggle was intense not only between political parties but also between the two ideologies. On one side, before the start of perestroika in 1985, there was the democratic movement, led by the young and promising politician Boris Yeltsin, who was invited to Moscow from his hometown of Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), where he held various party positions for a long time. . On the other hand, there is the Communist Party, which relies on Nikolai Ryzhkov, the former head of the union government and the so-called crying Bolshevik (this nickname was given to him by Anatoly Sobchak for his inability to hold a public debate).

The vice president also participated in the election race together with the president. The latter was elected as the sole candidate along with the head of state for a five-year term (now this term has been increased to six years). By the way, this was the first and last vice-presidential position in Russia – it was abolished with the entry into force of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993.

The elections were to be held on June 12, 1991, and there were six pairs of candidates on the ballot.

– Former Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR Vadim Bakatin and Ramazan Abdulatipov – Chairman of the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR.

– Colonel General Albert Makashov and CPSU Central Committee member Alexey Sergeev.

– People’s Representative Aman TuleyevViktor Bocharov, who later became the governor of the Kemerovo region and a member of the Russian Congress of People’s Deputies from Kuzbass.

—LDPSS member Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Andrey Zavidia.

– People’s Representative Nikolay Ryzhkov (Boris Yeltsin’s main rival) and Boris Gromov, who is known for leading the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.

— Boris Yeltsin and Alexander Rutskoy – Air Force colonel and leader of the Communists for Democracy group.

On election day, three quarters of the republic’s voting citizens came to the polls. Two rounds were predicted, but Yeltsin and Rutskoi won the first round, receiving almost 60% of the votes. His main rivals Ryzhkov and Gromov fell far behind, receiving only 17% of the votes. For Vladimir Zhirinovsky, these elections became a bright start in politics. He and his partner Zavidiya came in third place with 8% of the votes.

A month after the elections, on July 10, Boris Yeltsin took the presidential oath. The opening ceremony took place in the Kremlin Palace of Congresses (now the State Kremlin Palace). Yeltsin first pronounced the text of the oath. Contrary to the rules, the future president placed his hand on his heart, not the Constitution. Patriarch Alexy II then addressed the audience. Only after that did Yeltsin make his already triumphant speech. The ceremony was completed by former president Mikhail Gorbachev.