Presidential elections will be held in Russia in March, and it is expected that the incumbent president, Vladimir Putin, will win. This would mark his continued reign in power since 2000, potentially surpassing the tenure of any Russian or Soviet leader since Tsar Peter the Great. The absence of viable opposition candidates is notable, with only the leader of the Communist party, Nikolai Kharitonov, likely to gather significant votes. Some potential candidates opposing Putin have been denied permission to run, including peace activist Yekaterina Duntsova.
Presidential elections will be held in Russia in March. It is inevitable that the incumbent president, Vladimir Putin , will win. Putin has been in power (whether as president or as prime minister) since 2000. If he wins again, and he serves his full six-year term, he will have been in power for 30 years, longer than any Russia n or Soviet leader since Tsar Peter the Great (who died in 1721). Viable opposition candidates in this election are conspicuous by their absence.
A few token figures, largely loyal to Putin, have announced that they are also running. Of these, only the leader of the Communist party, Nikolai Kharitonov, is likely to garner many votes. In the last presidential election in 2018, the Communist candidate came second to Putin, (12% of the vote compared to Putin’s 77%). Opposition candidates? Some potential candidates who wanted to stand in opposition to Putin – and in specific opposition to the war in Ukraine – have, on dubious bureaucratic grounds, been refused permission to do so. Notable in this regard is the peace activist Yekaterina Duntsov
Russia Presidential Elections Vladimir Putin Opposition Candidates Communist Party Nikolai Kharitonov Yekaterina Duntsova