Legislative elections were held in Russia on 19 December 1999 to elect the 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p. 1642 Like in the previous elections in 1995, the electoral system resulted in many parties competing for the proportional seats and a significant number of independent deputies elected.
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation experienced major losses in the election, and for the first time since the dissolution of the Soviet Union a solid majority emerged in the State Duma that supported economic reforms towards a market economy. The result was favorable for President Boris Yeltsin and solidified the popularity of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ahead of the 2000 presidential election. Although the Communists still had the largest number of seats, the Unity party, endorsed by Putin, was in a close second. The Fatherland - All Russia bloc of former prime minister Yevgeny Primakov and Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov was in third place, followed by the Union of Right Forces, led by former prime minister Sergey Kiriyenko. Several small parties also won seats.
Background Initially the Fatherland bloc, which was led by Yevgeny Primakov and Yuri Luzhkov, and was critical of President Boris Yeltsin, was leading in the polls for most of 1999. Primakov was popular because of his tenure as the prime minister from 1998 until the spring of 1999, before his dismissal by Yeltsin. However, after Vladimir Putin was appointed prime minister in August 1999, he experienced a meteoric rise in popularity due to his response to the war in the North Caucasus and improving economic conditions from higher oil prices. Putin endorsed the pro-government Unity party led by Sergei Shoigu on 24 November 1999. It also received the endorsement of Aman Tuleyev, the Communist governor of Kemerovo Oblast. By early December, Unity surpassed the Fatherland bloc in the polls and was in second place after the Communists, whose support was declining compared to previous elections.
Electoral system
According to the 1993 electoral law, 225 members of the house were allocated proportionally, using nationwide party lists, via the Hare method with a 5% threshold, while the other 225 members were elected in single-member constituencies, using first past the post system.
To secure a place on the ballot, parties had to have registered with the Russian Ministry of Justice one year before the election (instead of six months in previous elections). As an alternative to gathering 200,000 signatures, they had the option of paying a deposit of just over two million rubles, returnable if the party won at least 3% of the list vote. In order to increase proportionality, the law provided that if parties reaching the five per cent threshold got in total 50% or less of the vote, parties with at least 3% of the vote would also win seats by declining numbers of votes up to the point at which the total share of vote exceeded 50%. However, if after this procedure the parties winning seats still had less than 50% of the vote, the election was to be deemed invalid. In the single-member district ballots, if votes cast against all exceeded the votes of each candidate, a repeat election had to be held within four months. As a result, repeat elections had to be held in eight districts. Finally, as an alternative to gathering signatures in support of their nomination, single-member district candidates were also given the option of paying a deposit of 83,490 rubles, returnable if they won at least 5% of the district vote.
Political parties and blocs
Electoral association or blocLead candidatesPolitical positionIdeology 1 Conservative Movement of Russia KDR Lev Ubozhko • Vladimir Burenin • Andrey Tishkov Centre-right to right-wing Conservatism / Anti-communism 2 Russian All-People's Union ROS Sergey Baburin • Nikolay Leonov • Nikolay Pavlov Right-wing Conservatism / Right-wing populism 3 Women of Russia ZhR Alevtina Fedulova • Galina Karelova • Nina Veselova Centre Feminism / Pacifism / Welfare state 5 Stalin Bloc – For the USSRLabour Russia, Union of Officers, Viktor Anpilov • Yevgeny Dzhugashvili • Stanislav Terekhov Far-left Stalinism / Anti-revisionism / Soviet patriotism 6 Yabloko Association Yabloko Grigory Yavlinsky • Sergei Stepashin • Vladimir Lukin Centre Social liberalism / Reformism 7 Communists and Workers of Russia – for the Soviet UnionRKRP, , K–TR Viktor Tyulkin • Anatoly Kryuchkov • Vladislav Aseyev Far-left Communism / Anti-revisionism 8 Peace, Labour, MayIndustrial Union, Native Fatherland May Alexander Burkov • Valery Trushnikov • Alexander Tatarkin Centre-left Left-wing populism 9 Andrei Nikolayev and Svyatoslav Fyodorov Bloc, PST, , Union of Realists Andrei Nikolayev • Svyatoslav Fyodorov • Tatyana Malyutina Centre-left Democratic socialism / Social democracy 10 Spiritual Heritage DN Alexey Podberezkin • Pyotr Proskurin • Valery Vorotnikov Right-wing Statism / Collectivism 11 Congress of Russian Communities and Yury Boldyrev MovementKRO, Interethnic Union KRO Yury Boldyrev • Dmitry Rogozin • Viktor Glukhikh Right-wing Right-wing populism / National conservatism 12 Party of Peace and Unity PME Sazhi Umalatova • Viktor Stepanov • Nikolay Antoshkin Left-wing Communism / Internationalism / Soviet patriotism 13 Russian Party for the Protection of Women RPZZh Tatyana Roshchina • Zhanna Makhova • Irina Kremenets Centre Social liberalism / Feminism 14 Interregional Movement "Unity", My Family, , , , , Prosperity MeDvEd Sergei Shoigu • Alexander Karelin • Alexander Gurov Centre-right Social conservatism / Populism 15 Social Democrats SD none Left-wing Social democracy 16 All-Russian Political Movement in Support of the Army DPA Viktor Ilyukhin • Albert Makashov • Yury Savelyev Far-left Militarism / Soviet patriotism 17 Zhirinovsky Bloc, LDPR Vladimir Zhirinovsky • Oleg Finko • Yegor Solomatin Right-wing Right-wing populism / Russian nationalism / Unitarism 18 For Civil Dignity ZGD Ella Pamfilova • Alexander Dondukov • Anatoly Shkirko Centre Liberalism / Human rights protection 19 Fatherland – All RussiaFatherland, All Russia, APR OVR Yevgeny Primakov • Yury Luzhkov • Vladimir Yakovlev Centre to centre-left Social liberalism / Civic nationalism 20 Communist Party of the Russian Federation CPRF Gennady Zyuganov • Gennady Seleznyov • Vasily Starodubtsev Left-wing Socialism / Left-wing populism / Left-wing nationalism 21 Patriotic Forces Movement – Russian Cause, Union of Compatriots "Fatherland", Christian Rebirth RD Oleg Ivanov • Yury Petrov • Mikhail Sidorov Right-wing National conservatism 22 All-Russian Political Party of the People VPPN Anzor Aksentyev-Kikalishvili • Tatyana Bure • Vladimir Shainsky Centre-left Populism / Social liberalism 23 Union of Right ForcesDVR, New Force, Young Russia, Lawyers for Human Rights SPS Sergey Kiriyenko • Boris Nemtsov • Irina Khakamada Centre-right to right-wing Conservative liberalism / Neoliberalism / Atlanticism 25 Our Home – Russia NDR Viktor Chernomyrdin • Vladimir Ryzhkov • Dmitry Ayatskov Centre-right Liberal conservatism 26 Socialist Party of Russia SPR Ivan Rybkin • Leonid Mayorov • Andrey Belishko Left-wing Social democracy 27 Party of Pensioners RPP Yakov Ryabov • Anatoly Kontashov • Rimma Markova Centre Pensioners interests 28 Russian Socialist Party RSP Vladimir Bryntsalov • Igor Bryntsalov • Yury Bryntsalov Right-wing Conservatism / Traditionalism Rejected lists Electoral associationLead candidatesPolitical positionIdeologyNotes Liberal Democratic Party of Russia LDPR Vladimir Zhirinovsky • Anatoly Bykov • Mikhail Musatov Right-wing Right-wing populism / Russian nationalism / Unitarism On 11 October 1999 the CEC rejected the federal party list due to inaccurate data about the candidates, including LDPR's no.2 Anatoly Bykov who was wanted on suspicion of money laundering. Savior Spas Alexander Barkashov • Vladimir Davidenko • Dmitry Belik Far-right Russian nationalism / Antisemitism / Anti-immigrant sentiment Affiliated with the Russian National Unity, Savior movement was registered with the CEC on 2 November 1999 and received ballot number 4. It was disqualified from the election on 25 November after some of its regional chapters were found existing only on paper. Ecological Party of Russia "Kedr" KEDR Anatoly Panfilov • Vladimir Petrov • Ivan Okhlobystin Centre Green politics Registered with the CEC on 3 November 1999, receiving ballot number 24. Disqualified on 10 December after two of its top-three candidates withdrew from election. Russian Party RP Vladimir Miloserdov • Galina Chubkova • Valery Luzgin Far-right Ultranationalism / Russian irredentism Did not submit signatures to the CEC before deadline or pay an election deposit. Russian Patriotic Popular Movement RPND Aleksandr Fyodorov • Aleksandr Kravchuk • Aleksey Vedenkin Far-right Russian nationalism Did not submit signatures to the CEC before deadline or pay an election deposit. Russian Conservative Party of Entrepreneurs RKPP Mikhail Toporkov • Yuri Antonov • Viktor Gokinayev Right-wing Conservatism Registration denied after one of top-three candidates was recalled by the party.
Campaign
The early election campaign saw the initial surge in popularity of Fatherland-All Russia bloc, led by the Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov and the former Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, which tried to capitalize upon the perceived incapacity of President Boris Yeltsin and the weakness of his administration. The tide had turned on 9 August 1999 when Yeltsin designated Vladimir Putin as Prime Minister and his eventual successor. On 24 November, Putin announced that "as a citizen" he will support the recently formed pro-government bloc Interregional Movement "Unity", headed by General Sergei Shoigu, a member of all Russian governments since 1994.
Opinion polls
Polling firmFieldwork dateCPRF UnityOVRSPSLDPRNDRYablokoNRPRLead VCIOM 12 Dec 24 21 12 7 4 83 FOM 12 Dec 21 16 9 5 5 1 75 ROMIR 10-12 Dec 17 17 9 7 5 7 Tie ARPI 10-12 Dec 20.8 14.7 11.6 6.5 4.4 96.1 FOM 27–28 Nov 21 14 10 4 4 8 7 24 Nov Vladimir Putin endorses Unity bloc FOM 20-21 Nov 29.1 11.1 15.2 6.9 5.5 1.3 11.110 FOM 13-14 Nov 30.1 10.9 19.1 5.4 5.4 2.7 10.98 FOM 6-7 Nov 27.3 10.9 21.9 5.4 5.4 4.1 12.34 FOM 30-31 Oct 25.9 9.0 22.0 3.8 5.1 2.5 12.93 11 Oct CEC forces LDPR to re-register as "Zhirinovsky Bloc" ARPI 4-10 Oct 30 25 7 5 195 FOM 18-19 Sep 2129 2 3 2 10 48 4–16 Sep Russian apartment bombings FOM 4-5 Sep 2023 2 5 1 12 43 FOM 21–22 Aug 2127 3 5 1 8 46 9 Aug Vladimir Putin appointed prime minister FOM 24-25 Jul 23 15 5 6 2 11 58 ROMIR 5–15 Jul 22.5 13 3.2 4.7 3.9 13.5 2.69 FOM 26-27 Jun 22 15 3 6 2 11 57 ROMIR 5–15 Jun 21.9 17.2 5.7 4.9 3.7 12.2 7.64.7 FOM 29–30 May 24 16 2 7 2 13 58 15 May Impeachment attempt of Boris Yeltsin fails in the State Duma 12 May Sergey Stepashin appointed prime minister ROMIR 5–15 May 23.6 13.5 1.3 5.4 3.2 13.4 410.1 FOM 24-25 Apr 23 13 3 5 3 15 48 ROMIR 5–15 Apr 23.4 11.3 3.6 6.6 3.4 15.7 6.17.7 FOM 27-28 Mar 24 13 2 5 2 14 510 24 Mar PM Primakov cancels visit to the US over Yugoslavia bombings ROMIR 5–15 Mar 25.5 9.6 0.9 5.2 2.2 13.7 4.411.8 FOM 27-28 Feb 26 16 3 4 2 11 510 ROMIR 5–15 Feb 23.1 10.6 1 4.7 2.3 11.9 511.2 ROMIR 5–15 Jan 1999 22.8 13.6 0.9 3.7 2.5 13.3 4.59.2 ROMIR 5–15 Nov 1998 25.1 1.1 3.5 3.6 12.7 8.312.4FOM11 Oct 199721 281011FOM23 Dec 199519 88711 1995 election 19 Dec 1995 22.3 New New New 11.2 10.1 6.9 New 11.1
Results
Further reading Hesli, Vicki L. & William M. Reisinger (2003). The 1999–2000 Elections in Russia: Their Impact and Legacy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. reviewed by Luke March in: Slavic Review 63.4 (Winter 2004), 897–898. Russian general elections Final report on the parliamentary elections in the Russian Federation, 19 December 1999 , Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, 13 February 2000.