Three Presidents and the Rapidly Approaching Elections

There haven't been many surprises in the presidential elections since Russia became a separate country in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. In fact, there have only been three presidents, Boris Yeltsin (1991-1999), Vladimir Putin (2000-2008, Roulettian Aside: Putin served briefly as Yeltsin's last Prime Minister from August to December 1999, under Yeltsin a far chancier position than president -- Putin was the fifth PM in eighteen months), and finally Dmitri Medvedev (2008-2012, during which time Putin was once again Prime Minister, this time around, a quite stable post).


Meanwhile, votes are going to be cast again. The next presidential elections are tomorrow, 4 March 2012. It's generally taken for granted that the number of Russian presidents will remain at three: in all likelihood, Vladimir Putin will win the election hands down and return to his previous employment as President of the Russian Federation. 

"4 March; Russian Presidential Elections

The President of the Russian Federation is a guarantee of the rights and freedoms of people and citizens"

There are five candidates in the race (with their rating in the 12 February poll in parentheses):

Vladimir Putin (United Russia, 55%)

Gennadi Zyuganov (Communist; ran against Yeltsin in 1996, Putin in 2000 and Medvedev in 2008, 9%)

Vladimir Zhirinovsky (loud, boisterous Liberal Democrat, knows little about PC; ran against Yelstin in 1996, Putin in 2000, and Medvedev in 2008, 8%)

Mikhail Prokhorov (Independent; billionaire (as is Putin), owner of the New Jersey Nets, 6%)
Sergei Mironov (Just Russia; ran against Putin in 2004, 5%)

Who is voting, who isn't? And for whom? Here is an informal, unscientific survey of friends and acquaintances.


Uralian Natasha: I can't vote. My ID has expired and I am not registered with the authorities here. I'm in trouble. I've got to get all of these bureaucratic problems taken care of.


Defense Lawyer Lena:  I'll probably vote for Prokhorov. Someone new, young, different. He's rich -- so maybe he won't steal from us. Since 1917 the government has been plundering the country. Almost 100 years! No wonder Russia's in the state it's in!


Red Kirill: Of course I'm going to vote! I'd vote for Prokhorov, he's good, but he isn't understood here. So we've got to vote for the guy who poses the strongest threat to Putin. That's Zyuganov.

"On 4 March, we're voting for Zyuganov. Power and property to the people!"

The orange sticker is advertising the removal of garbage -- cheap!

Neighbor Julia: I don't believe in the voting system in this country.

Guitarist Poet Dima: Vote? Are you kidding? You think it's necessary? You want that kind of enjoyment?  Standing in line for hours with a bunch of old ladies who don't understand anything. I'm not going to vote because I know that it's all useless.


Nanny Luda: There's no one to vote for. Prokhorov? I've listened to him. He may be rich, but he's not so smart. There's just no point. I'm not going to waste my time standing in line for nothing. It's a game and I'm not going to play it.

Don't Sell Your Vote!

A thousand ruble bill ($30) is pasted over the man's mouth

Rock Musician Slava: Vote? For whom? The opppostion?  It's not enough to be opposed to something you need to be FOR something!


Neighbor Oleg:  I haven't voted for ten years. I'm not interested in politics. It doesn't touch me. I just want them all to leave my life alone.


Magadan Slava: I'm not going to vote, I'm registered in another town -- it's not worth my time to go out there to vote. But if I were voting, I'd vote "against all." Putin did some good things for the country in his time, but now he's becoming too much like an emperor.  Although maybe that's what the Russians need. They don't understand democracy, they need someone to tell them what to do and how to do it. They can't figure it out themselves.


Journalist Yura: I have my standards. I'm voting for Prokhorov -- because he's the tallest of the bunch.

Zhirinovsky and It Will Be Better!

Teacher Tonya:  Fot Putin! Thanks to his programs, I got my apartment!


Teacher Sascha:  You know, we have questions for Prokhorov.  Where did he get so much money, what corruption was he involved with? No, I'm voting for Putin. Look at the state of the world now -- instability everywhere. I want someone with experience, someone who's powerful, who can do the job.

"V.V. Putin;

Your vote is needed for victory!"

Neighbor Olya: I'm not voting because I'm not registered here, but I'm for Putin. He keeps his word, he does what he says, you can count on him. People forget what a mess the country was in with Gorbachev and Yeltsin. We had to travel for miles with talons just to get food, there was nothing, nothing. He's built the country up, turned it around. Sure, it takes time, you can't fix a huge country like Russia over night. But he's on the right path.


Cameraman Yura: I don't vote. I don't believe in it.


Tour Guide Natasha: My friends and me, we aren't going to vote for anybody out of protest. W'e're going to sign the ballots, rip them and drop them in the urn.


Engineer Andrei:  For Putin. I want stability.


Real Estate Agent Inna:  There's no one, no one. But I guess I'll vote for Putin, just because he has experience. That young rich businessman -- what does he know about running a country? Putin has been in the government almost his entire adult life. So this is a preventative measure: just so it doesn't get worse. Well, of course it's going to get worse, but maybe not as worse as fast. 


Datscha Sergei: I'm not voting. I don't see the point.


Tour Guide Luda:  Vote? Not me. It's a circus. It doesn't mean anything.


Lawyer Misha: For those clowns?


Spanish Teacher Tanya:  I guess I'll have to vote for Prokhorov -- if my name is on the list. For some reason, it wasn't there for the parliamentary elections back in December. Strange, right?  Even suspicious. Want to hear something else? Dasha, my daughter, went to vote right when the polls opened at 8 am -- and there was already a whole layer of ballots in the urn. She pointed this out to the observers and they told her not to worry, said everything was fine.

"Mikhail Prokhorov, Our President

For a Time of Possibilities! For Attaining New Heights!

For a Future with Perspectives! For Mikhail Prokhorov!"

(Prokhorov should hire a designer who doesn't put black text on navy blue!)

Artist Vanya: I'm not going to vote. I don't understand politics. All I understand is that we are riding in a car that's been breaking down for years. Logic says that it's just going to break down more and more. 


Russophile Nikita:  You think that most people are against Putin because you gallivant with the artists and intellectuals in Petersburg. But let me tell you, highly esteemed Julietta, Russia is a huge country, Moscow and Petersburg are the exceptions. Everywhere else there are people like me. Putin is intelligent, he has experience, he's been highly trained. Yes, he was in the KGB -- and that's good.  Do you think the KGB takes fools and idiots? We don't want democracy, we don't want elections, We want Putin, we want a Tsar. And the sooner, the better. 


It's loud in the bar where later I run into Artist Igor at Tour Guide Inna's birthday party. I continue my informal survey but Igor clearly misunderstands my vital political question completely and starts explaining how best to roll joint.