Gubernatorial elections in 1995 took place in fifteen regions of the Russian Federation.
Background On 3 October 1994, the President of Russia Boris Yeltsin signed the Decree No. 1969 stating that elections for heads of administrations should be held only with the president's permission, until another procedure is established by federal law.Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of October 3, 1994 No. 1969 "On measures to strengthen the unified system of executive power in the Russian Federation"3 October 1994: Regulation "On the head of administration" approved, Electronic Museum of Russia's constitutional history
In August 1995, elections for the head of the administration of Sverdlovsk Oblast, unauthorized by the president, were held, and on December 17, in accordance with a presidential decree, elections were scheduled in 11 regions. In the same year, the president of Kalmykia was re-elected and the head of the Chechen Republic was elected.
Race summary Federal subjectGubernatorial elections — 1995, politika.su Incumbent Incumbentsince Election day Candidates ResultSverdlovsk Oblast Aleksey Strakhov 1994 6 August (first round) Incumbent lost election.Former governor elected. 20 August (runoff) Kalmykia (snap election) Kirsan Ilyumzhinov 1993 15 October Kirsan Ilyumzhinov 85.09%(ran unopposed) Incumbent re-elected. Chechnya Doku Zavgayev 1995 17 December Doku Zavgayev 74.8%(ran unopposed) Incumbent elected to full term. Chuvashia (referendum) Nikolay Fyodorov 1993 17 December Office of president preserved. Primorsky Krai Yevgeny Nazdratenko 1993 17 December Incumbent elected to full term. Belgorod Oblast Yevgeny Savchenko 1993 17 December Incumbent elected to full term.Moscow Oblast Anatoly Tyazhlov 1991 17 December (first round) Incumbent elected to full term. 30 December (runoff) Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Boris Nemtsov 1991 17 December Incumbent elected to full term. Novgorod Oblast Mikhail Prusak 1991 17 December Incumbent elected to full term.Novosibirsk Oblast Ivan Indinok 1993 17 December (first round) Incumbent lost election.Former governor elected. 24 December (runoff) Omsk Oblast Leonid Polezhayev 1991 17 December Incumbent elected to full term. Orenburg Oblast Vladimir Yelagin 1991 17 December Incumbent elected to full term.Tambov Oblast Oleg Betin 1995 17 December (first round) Incumbent lost election.New governor elected. 24 December (runoff) Tomsk Oblast Viktor Kress 1991 17 December Incumbent elected to full term. Tver Oblast Vladimir Suslov 1991 17 December Incumbent lost election.New governor elected. Yaroslavl Oblast Anatoly Lisitsyn 1991 17 December Incumbent elected to full term.
Kalmykia
A snap presidential election was held in Kalmykia on 15 October 1995. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was re-elected, running unopposed. This term (seven years) was the longest among the Russian governors. According to Ilyumzhinov himself, his competitors failed to collect signatures for registration, and Ilyumzhinov's administration decided not to find any nominal candidate, because he did not want to "fool the people".
Chechnya
The 1995 elections for the head of Chechen Republic were held on December 17, simultaneously with the elections to the State Duma. Contrary to the laws of Russia, but according to the decision of the Supreme Council of the former Checheno-Ingushetia (which was restored as a temporary authority of Chechnya), every resident of Chechnya could vote wherever it suits them. The separatists staged a number of provocations. A few hours before the elections, a hospital in Gudermes was stormed by them. One of the schools in Grozny, where the polling station was located, was thrown by militants with grenades.How Chechnya elects, Kommersant (10 October 2003)
On December 6, the congress of the "Union of the People for the Revival of the Republic" was failed to held because of the government restrictions: delegates from the southern parts of Chechnya were stopped at checkpoints. The union was headed by the former chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Russia Ruslan Khasbulatov, considered Zavgayev's only real rival. For these reasons, on December 9, Khasbulatov withdrew from the elections.
According to official sources, 50.43% of Chechnya's residents took part in the voting. In addition, Russian military contingent stationed in Chechnya (about 40 thousand people) took part in the elections. The elections were monitored by 60 OSCE representatives, as well as 150 Russian and international observers, and no serious violations were identified. Other sources stating that OSCE representatives left Chechnya during the elections and none of the international observers attended the voting.
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