Elections and Political Order in Russia: The Implications of the 1993 Elections to the Federal Assembly (A Central European University Press Book)

Russia held its first multiparty election in over 75 years in the hope that it would usher in a new democratic political order. However, the success of right-wing populist Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and other anti-reform forces shocked the world. This work analyzes the background, events and main players of the elections, and looks at their significance for the Russian political system. As the first volume-length study of the December 1993 voting, it provides historical, political, regional and sociocultural interpretations of the elections and their results. Contributions are made by leading scholars, as well as by some promising newcomers to the field, from the UK, Russia, Eastern Europe and Australia. Frontmatter List of Contributors (page vii) Acknowledgments (page xi) 1 Introduction (Peter Lentini, page 1) Part I: Election in Russia and the USSR: A Historical Overview 2 Elections in Russian and Early Soviet History (Ian D. Thatcher, page 15) 3 Reforming the Soviet Electoral System (Peter Lentini, page 36) Part II: The 1993 Election Campaign 4 Overview of the Campaign (Peter Lentini, page 63) Part III: Influences and Trends of the 1993 Campaign 5 Media Coverage in the Elections (Daphne Skillen, page 97) 6 Parties and Voters in the Elections (Matthew Wyman, Bill Miller, Stephen White and Paul Heywood, page 124) 7 Stabilization or Stagnation? A Regional Perspective (Elena Omel'chenko and Hilary Pilkington, page 143) Part IV: The Framework of a New Political Ordertitle 8 The Development of the Russian Party System: Did the Elections Change Anything? (Richard Sakwa, page 169) 9 The Presidency and Political Leadership in Post-Communist Russia (Stephen White, page 202) 10 The Legecy of Leninist Enforced De-participation (Troy McGrath, page 226) 11 Conclusion (Peter Lentini, page 246) Appendix: Electoral Associations and their Programmes (Peter Lentini, page 260) Index (page 282) Russia held its first multiparty election in over 75 years in the hope that it would usher in a new democratic political order. However, the success of right-wing populist Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and other anti-reform forces shocked the world. This study analyzes the background, events and main players of the elections, and examines their significance for the Russian political system. Describing in detail the December 1993 voting, it provides historical, political, regional and sociocultural interpretations of the elections and their results. The work attempts to answer such questions as: what were the keys to Zhirinovsky's success?; who are the new players on Russia's political scene?; what role will the new institutions play in Russian politics; and who actually holds power in Russia?

Elections and Political Order in Russia is a multidisciplinary analysis of the significance of Russia's first postcommunist multiparty election, held in December 1993. Written by leading international scholars, it answers such questions as: Why was the nationalist Zhirinovsky successful? Who are the leading figures in Russian politics? What will be the role of the new political institutions? Who actually holds power in Russia?

This study analyzes the background, events and leading figures involved in the December 1993 multiparty elections in Russia. It provides historical, political, regional and sociocultural interpretations of Russia's first post-communist elections, and examines their significance.