The Boris Yeltsin presidential campaign, 1996 was the reelection campaign of Russian President
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
in the
1996 election.
Yeltsin was ultimately reelected, despite having originally been greatly expected to lose the election due to an immensely low level of public support prior to the official launch of his campaign.
He was able to accomplish this due to a number of strategies and factors, including campaigning vigorously ahead of the first round, painting Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
nominee Gennady Zyuganov
Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov (russian: Генна́дий Андре́евич Зюга́нов; born 26 June 1944) is a Russian politician, who has been the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and served as M ...
(his chief opponent) negatively, actively working to convince the Russian electorate that their existed a duopoly which left them no other choice but Yeltsin or Zyuganov (and convincing them that Yeltsin was the lesser of two evils
The lesser of two evils principle, also referred to as the lesser evil principle and lesser-evilism, is the principle that when faced with selecting from two immoral options, the least immoral one should be chosen. The principle is sometimes rec ...
), repositioning himself to better appeal to the electorate, benefitting from an immense media bias
Media bias is the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of many events and stories that are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening of J ...
in his favor, utilizing the advantages of his office, and benefitting campaign spending which far exceeded the limits set by election laws.
Background
Yelstin's approval had tanked after he had introduced significant reforms meant to push Russia towards a market-based economy. He had eliminated the majority of Soviet-era price controls, privatized a large number of significant state assets, permitted the ownership of private property, welcomed free-market principles, and additionally allowed for a stock exchange to be established and for commodities exchanges and private banks to be created.[ While some Russians (largely ]oligarchs
Oligarch may refer to:
Authority
* Oligarch, a member of an oligarchy, a power structure where control resides in a small number of people
* Oligarch (Kingdom of Hungary), late 13th–14th centuries
* Business oligarch, wealthy and influential bu ...
) thrived under his reforms, many others faced significant hardships as a result of them.[ A significant portion of the Russian populace had faced increased poverty under his leadership.][ Additionally, crime rates had significantly increased during his presidency.][
Yeltsin had originally risen to power on a populist message of anticorruption and an opponent of Moscow's establishment politics. A political maverick, he was cast-out by the Soviet political establishment.] He found a base of support among liberal and pro-western democratic movements. In 1990, those movements united to form the Democratic Russia. This group held a base of power primarily in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and the Urals.[ This political alliance brought him into power in June 1991, and helped him to resist a coup attempt in August 1991. The alliance formed the base of Russia's first noncommunist government.][ However, this alliance never merged into a single political organization.][ Yeltsin never officially joined the front, intending to maintain a level of separation between himself and partisan politics.][ Thus, it consequentially splintered, leaving him without a unified base of support.][
Under Yeltsin's leadership, Russia faced the stigma of being a fallen international superpower.][ Russia encountered a massive amount of corruption and lawlessness.][ Russia's economy also faced a decline in industrial production and the Russian populace's qualify of life and ]life expectancy
Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...
declined.[
As president, Yeltsin had allowed for a far more free media to exist than his Soviet predecessors had. In doing so, he not only allowed Russians to enjoy Western pop-culture, but he also permitted open criticism of his own leadership to be published by the press.][
Yeltsin promised in May 1992 that he would "absolutely" not seek a second term. However, observers doubted the authenticity of this declaration. No Kremlin leader in 1,000 years had voluntarily stepped aside to make way for a successor.]
;1993
Following the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, the Yeltsin government adopted a more nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
and authoritarian agenda than they had previously championed.[ Yeltsin saw a favorable result in the 1993 constitutional referendum vote.][
However, at the same time as the constitutional referendum, the pro-Yeltsin and pro-reform Russia's Choice party fared disastrously in the legislative elections. Russia's Choice might have seen their prospects harmed by Yeltsin's own refusal to officially align himself with or endorse the party.][ A reason for Yeltsin's refusal to voice his support of the party might have been a desire of Yeltsin's to continue to separate himself from partisan politics,][http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/RP96-70/RP96-70.pdf ] while another reason might have been tension between Yeltsin and key members of the Russia's Choice party such as Yegor Gaidar
Yegor Timurovich Gaidar (russian: link=no, Его́р Тиму́рович Гайда́р; ; 19 March 1956 – 16 December 2009) was a Soviet and Russian economist, politician, and author, and was the Acting Prime Minister of Russia from 15 Ju ...
and Boris Fyodorov
Boris Grigoryevich Fyodorov (russian: Борис Григорьевич Фёдоров) (13 February 1958 in Moscow – 20 November 2008 in London) was a Russian economist, politician, and reformer.
Early life
He was awarded a doctor of economi ...
.[ Nevertheless, the party had been expected to garner as much as a 40% plurality of the vote. However, the party instead garnered merely 15.5% of the votes, placing behind ]Vladimir Zhirinovsky
Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky, ''né'' Eidelshtein (russian: link=false, Эйдельштейн) (25 April 1946 – 6 April 2022) was a Russian right-wing populist politician and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) fr ...
's Liberal Democratic Party, which received 22.9% of the vote.[ Zhirinovsky had successfully appealed to a chunk of the Russian electorate that had grown tired of both the communist leadership of the past and the current "democratic" leadership under Yeltsin.][ Zhirinovsky had espoused a protofascist views and "law-and-order" rhetoric laced with racist undertones.][ Combined, the core reformist (pro-Yeltsin) parties, including the Russia's Choice and Party of Russian Unity and Accord, received a mere 27.5% of the vote, whilst the core opposition parties received 43.3%.][ The underperformance of the pro-Yeltsin forces in the 1993 legislative election alarmed some in Yelstin's camp of an urgent need for Yeltsin to revive his faltering public image.][
;1994
Over the course of 1994, Yeltsin became more and more separated from core reformist politicians and organizations.][ At the same time, Yeltsin was also becoming more and more separated from the coalition government and its leader, ]Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Viktor Chernomyrdin
Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin (russian: Ви́ктор Степа́нович Черномы́рдин, ; 9 April 19383 November 2010) was a Soviet and Russian politician and businessman. He was the Minister of Gas Industry of the Soviet Unio ...
.[ Instead, Yeltsin increasingly relied on the advice of First Deputy Prime Minister ]Oleg Soskovets
Oleg Nikolayevich Soskovets (russian: Оле́г Никола́евич Соскове́ц; born May 11, 1949) is a Soviet, Kazakh and Russian politician.
Soskovets was amongst those accompanying Boris Yeltsin during the 1994 diplomatic incident ...
and his own bodyguard and confidant Alexander Korzhakov
Alexander Vasilyevich Korzhakov (russian: Александр Васильевич Коржаков; born 31 January 1950) is a Russian former KGB general who served as Boris Yeltsin's bodyguard, confidant, and adviser for eleven years. He was ...
.[ Soskovets had been shaping Yeltsin's campaign strategy.
;1995
The result 1995 legislative election was not better for Yeltsin. Core reformist (pro-Yeltsin) parties performed marginally worse than 1993, receiving a combined 25.5% of the vote.][ Core opposition parties garnered 42.5% of the vote.][
The opposition ]Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
gained power in the 1995 legislative election. Its leader, Gennady Zyuganov
Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov (russian: Генна́дий Андре́евич Зюга́нов; born 26 June 1944) is a Russian politician, who has been the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and served as M ...
, had a strong grassroots organization, especially in the rural areas and small towns. Zyuganov had appealed effectively to nostalgia for an era of Soviet prestige on the international stage and socialist domestic order. It was already clear at this time that Zyuganov was going to challenge Yeltsin for the presidency the following year.
In the 1995 legislative elections, Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party placed second with 11.18% of the vote. Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin's centrist, non-reformist, party Our Home – Russia
Our Home – Russia (NDR; russian: Наш дом – Россия; НДР; ''Nash dom – Rossiya'', ''NDR'') was a Russian political party that existed from 1995 to the mid-2000s.
History
Our Home – Russia was founded in 1995 by then Russian P ...
won 10.13%, placing third.[
The result of the 1995 legislative elections seemed to further indicate that support for Yeltsin's reformists was indeed in political decline.] The largest reformist party at the time, Grigory Yavlinsky
Grigory Alekseyevich Yavlinsky ( Russian: Григо́рий Алексе́евич Явли́нский; born 10 April 1952) is a Russian economist and politician. He authored the 500 Days Program, a plan for the transition of the Soviet regim ...
's Yabloko
The Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko (RUDP Yabloko) (russian: Росси́йская объединённая демократи́ческая па́ртия «Я́блоко», Rossíyskaya obyedinyónnaya demokratícheskaya pártiya "Y ...
won only 6.9% of the vote.[ The next-largest reformist party, Yegor Gaidar's ]Democratic Choice of Russia
The Democratic Choice of Russia (DVR; russian: Демократический выбор России; ДВР; ''Demokraticheskiy vybor Rossii'', ''DVR''), before 1994 Choice of Russia Bloc (VR; russian: Блок «Выбор России»; В ...
, won a paltry 3.9%.[ Yeltsin's advisers viewed this as evidence that it would be disastrous for Yeltsin to campaign as a reformist/democrat.][ Indeed, polling in December placed Yeltsin behind both Zyuganov and Zhirinovsky.]
Campaign strategies
Soskovets strategy
Yeltsin's original, abandoned, campaign strategy had been devised by Oleg Soskovets in response to the defeat of pro-Yeltsin parties in the 1993 and 1995 legislative elections. Soskovets decided that for Yeltsin to win in 1996, he would need to adopt some of Zhirinovsky's style of rhetoric.[ Soskovets worked alongside others, such as Alexander Korzhakov, to devise a strategy.][ According to their strategy, Yelstin would need to position himself as an intermediate between the reformers and the Zhirinovsky-style protofascists by adopting the platforms of both. Yeltsin initially obliged, and took action to pivot and adjust his image accordingly.][
]
Abandonment of Soskovets strategy
In late-January 1996, members of Yeltsin's inner-circle began to inform him that they were worried that Soskovets' strategy was a losing strategy.[ At the same time, Soskovets' standing with Yeltsin was severely harmed after he failed to complete the campaign's signature drive by the deadline that Yeltsin had assigned him.][
By February, Yeltsin had begun to abandon Soskovets' advice. At this time, several shadow campaigns were hard at work to support Yeltsin's candidacy, and were developing alternative campaign strategies for Yeltsin to adopt.][ By early February, Sergey Filatov (a former member of Yeltsin's government) had been appointed as the interim head of the campaign headquarters. Filatov was also tasked with laying the groundwork for Yeltsin's official campaign committee. Filatov's appointment consequentially supplanted much of Soskovets' authority within the campaign.]
On March 23, in a meeting with Anatoly Chubais
Anatoly Borisovich Chubais (russian: Анатолий Борисович Чубайс; born 16 June 1955) is a Russian politician and economist who was responsible for privatization in Russia as an influential member of Boris Yeltsin's administ ...
and members of Semibankirschina
Semibankirschina (), or seven bankers, was a group of seven powerful Russian business oligarchs who played an important role in the political and economical life of Russia between 1996 and 2000. In spite of internal conflicts, the group worked ...
that polling showed him to be headed towards a defeat.[
Panic stuck Yeltsin's inner circle after their meeting with the Semisbankirschina made it clear to them that the opinion polls indicated that Yeltsin could not win. Some members of the inner-circle, such as Alexander Korzhakov, urged Yeltsin to cancel or postpone the election in order to prevent a Communist victory.][Россия Ельцина](_blank)
// The Wall Street Journal, 24 апреля 2007 Others, such as Yegor Gaidar, urged Yeltsin to forgo seeking a second term, so that they could instead run a reform-minded candidate that would capable of winning the election.[
Instead of abandoning his candidacy, Yeltsin reorganized his campaign organization. Yeltsin's own daughter ]Tatyana Dyachenko
Tatyana Borisovna Yumasheva (russian: link=no, Татьяна Борисовна Юмашева, formerly Dyachenko, Дьяченко, née Yeltsina, Ельцина; born 17 January 1960) is the younger daughter of former Russian President Bori ...
was instrumental in convincing him to replace Soskovets as his campaign head.[ While Yelstin distrusted his campaign advisors, he placed great trust in the advice of his daughter.] On March 23, day after the meeting with the Semibankirschina team, Yeltsin fired Soskovets, officially ending the Soskovets campaign strategy.[
]
Adoption of a new campaign strategy
The campaign's revised strategy became more clear after liberal figures solidified their control of the campaigns central leadership. They rejected the premise of the earlier Soskovets campaign strategy, believing that trying to appeal towards communists and fascists would be a losing strategy. Instead, they formed an entirely new strategy for his campaign.[
Russia lacked a strong party system, thus partisan divides were less a factor for campaigns than they were in democracies with more developed party systems, such as ]France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.[ In both the 1993 and 1995 parliamentary elections, half of Russia's parliamentary seats were decided by voting in single-mandate districts. However, the other half was determined by a national system of proportional representation. Proportional representation encouraged the existence of a plethora of political parties and little incentive for party consolidation. In 1993, thirteen separate parties contested in legislative elections. In 1995, forty-three different parties did.][ This was seen by the campaign's new leadership as being problematic to Yeltsin's candidacy. They believed that in order to win he would need to convince voters that he was the lesser evil, which he would be unable to effectively do without first convincing voters that they had only two options.][ Essentially, the strategy was to manufacture a public perception that there existed a political duopoly consisting of Yeltsin and Zyuganov's Communist Party. They would instill such a perception in spite of the fact that Russia had a ]multi-party system
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in ...
.[
Under their new strategy, the campaign would work to recast Yeltsin as an individual single-handedly fighting to stave off communist control. The campaign framed a narrative that portrayed Yeltsin as Russia's best hope for stability.]
Under their new strategy, the campaign would also work to shift the narrative of the election into a referendum on whether voters wanted to return to their communist past (with Zyuganov), or continue with reforms (with Yeltsin).[ Rather than painting a new detailed vision for the direction in which he would take the nation during his second term, Yeltsin would provide voters assurances that the economic payoff of his reforms was around the corner, as well as stoke fears that Russia's economic situation would only worsen under communist leadership.][ The decision to frame the election as a referendum on whether Russia should move forward towards a market economy or move backwards towards communism would prove to be one of the more important decisions that contributed the campaign's ultimate victory.
Also important to the campaign's new strategy was to highlight the left's radical views and to portray Zyuganov as a government bureaucrat with no practical leadership experience.]
Under their new strategy, the campaign sought to replicate factors that had previously contributed to his victories in the 1991 presidential election and the 1993 referendums.[ One factor that it sought to replicate was the public's perception of his leadership. In 1991, Yeltsin had been widely seen as a vigorous leader. This was no longer the case. Thus, Yeltsin took an active approach to campaigning in order to project a revival of vigor.][ Another factor was for Yeltsin to exacerbate the divide between the moderate and radical sides of the left-wing and to capitalize off of the resulting political polarization between factions of the left-wing.] Yet another factor he replicated was the allocation of funds to popular causes, something he had also done in advance of the 1991 election and 1994 referendum.[ He also repeated tactics used in 1991 and 1993 by firing unpopular officials, slowing down the pace of economic reforms (a plurality of Russians felt that the reforms needed to be more gradual), and promising to pivot a number policies in the direction favored by the public.][ Another factor was to create an overwhelmingly pro-Yelstin media bias, similar to the one that Yeltsin had benefited from in the leadup to the 1993 referendums.][
]
Campaigning in first round
Early developments
Many predicted that Russia would succumb to the same trend as many other post-Soviet transition democracies, where nationalist politicians unseated incumbent leaders.
Before Yeltsin announced his intention to seek a second term, there was speculation that he would retire from politics due to his ailing health and the growing disapproval of his performance.[ At the time Yeltsin was recuperating from a series of heart attacks.][ Despite some efforts to revive the public's perception, Yeltsin still possessed a strongly negative image, with both domestic and international observers taking note his occasionally erratic behavior.][ Additionally, amid the aforementioned economic decline, Yeltsin encountered poor optics by enjoying the benefits of power, enjoying luxuries he himself had once criticized Soviet leaders for, such as chauffeured limos.][ Yeltsin's popularity came close to zero.][
According to the former ]Kremlin Chief of Staff
The Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation ( rus, Руководи́тель Администра́ции Президе́нта Росси́йской Федера́ции, Rukovoditel' Administratsii Prezi ...
Sergey Filatov, Yeltsin initially did not plan to participate in the elections, but with the success of the Communist party in the legislative elections, he changed this decision. Former Yeltsin adviser Sergey Stankevich claimed that then Mayor of St. Petersburg Anatoly Sobchak
Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak ( rus, Анатолий Александрович Собчак, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ sɐpˈtɕak; 10 August 1937 – 19 February 2000) was a Soviet and Russian politician, a co-author of the ...
was considered as a candidate for the presidency instead of Yeltsin, as Sobchak had all the necessary resources and was seen to have a chance of winning. However, at the end of 1995 Sobchak finally abandoned this idea, and Yeltsin still decided to seek re-election.
In January 1996, Yeltsin distributed an internal memo, which was soon leaked in the press. The memo urged his government to undertake radical measures to ensure he would retain power. One of the suggested actions was to dismiss regional governors that did not provide a sufficient level of support to Our Home – Russia
Our Home – Russia (NDR; russian: Наш дом – Россия; НДР; ''Nash dom – Rossiya'', ''NDR'') was a Russian political party that existed from 1995 to the mid-2000s.
History
Our Home – Russia was founded in 1995 by then Russian P ...
during the 1995 legislative elections. Other actions suggested in the memo were to channel government money into his election campaign, use state-run media to bolster his candidacy, cut funding to state-owned regional newspapers that supported opposition candidates, and to ensure that positions in the Central Election Commission were occupied by individuals favoring Yeltsin.[
On January 22, 1996, and Yeltsin stated that he would announce the final decision on whether he was going to run sometime between February 13 and 15. Yeltsin commented,
By this time, it was widely anticipated that, despite his unpopularity, Yeltsin was going to seek reelection.][
The days leading up to the announcement were characterized by a number of figures with connections to Yeltsin signaling whether or not they would support his reelection campaign. For instance, on February 5, 1996, Vyacheslav Kostikov, Yeltsin's former spokesman, indicated his opposition to Yeltsin's candidacy by delivering a crass and harshly-worded rebuke of the President. On February 8, Prime Minister Chernomyrdin denied long-standing rumors that he would seek presidency himself, declaring that Yeltsin had his, "complete and unconditional support."][
]
Announcement of candidacy
On 15 February 1996, Yeltsin officially declared his intentions to seek a second term in a speech delivered at the Youth Palace in his native Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...
.[Yeltsin: A Life by Timothy J. Colton][ While delivering his announcement, Yeltsin's voice was uncharacteristically hoarse.][
Yeltsin's announcement tried to portray a stark contrast between himself and Zyuganov. In his announcement Yeltsin declared,
Yeltsin proclaimed in his speech, "the people want me to run a second time."][ Despite Yeltsin making this remark insisting that the Russian public desired to see him run for reelection, polling indicated immense disinterest in his candidacy. On the day that he announced his candidacy, the majority of major polls showed him to be either in fourth or fifth place. Most political observers had already disregarded his prospects.][ Polling showed him to possess an approval rating of 6%.] The controversial diverse Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
was found to be polling with a more favorable opinion by the Russian public, scoring both lower negatives and higher positives than Yeltsin.[ Polling also found that the majority of Russians believed that Yeltsin was to blame for wrecking the country's economy.][
The campaign faced the challenge of convincing voters that despite bleak circumstances under his incumbency, Russia would fare better under Yeltsin's continued leadership.][CNN Interactive: Pivotal Elections: Russian Elections; Candidates: Boris Yeltsin]
(1996)
Many observers saw Yeltsin as an unpopular underdog
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...
.[ There were some observers who believed that Yeltsin still could be able to utilize his reputable political instincts combined with the immense patronage and power belonging to the presidency in order to pull off an upset victory.][ However, most saw his prospects of winning a fair election as incredibly dim.][
Yegor Gaidar was even quoted as saying, "No matter how you arrange the possible coalitions, it is hard to imagine that the president will win."][
]
Winter 1996
By the virtue of Yeltsin's incumbency, his campaign effort was given access to a plethora of resources that no other campaign had. This meant that the advantage of his incumbency immense. While he was, on one hand, burdened by the failures of his incumbency, he was also provided substantial utilities by virtue his position as the head of the Russian government. Yeltsin's campaign had access to the resources of agencies such as the FSB the FAPSI
FAPSI (russian: ФАПСИ) or Federal Agency of Government Communications and Information (FAGCI) (russian: Федеральное Агентство Правительственной Связи и Информации) was a Russian governmen ...
.[ Korzhakov's own analytic center and regional heads of administration who Korzhakov helped to appoint were willing to assist the campaign.][ The campaign used these resources for intelligence gathering and monitoring campaign spending, however they otherwise benefited only marginally from them.][ However, Yeltsin found other means of using his incumbency as a tool for his campaign. Being an incumbent, he could demonstrate his willingness to fulfill promises he was making on the campaign trail.][ In March he doubled a large number of pensions.][ This received flak from his opponents, who accused him of essentially buying votes, however, Yeltsin's team argued that he was simply doing his job as President.] In early March, Yeltsin decreed that 40 million landowners in Russia would have the right to buy and sell property. This move made land a tradable commodity in Russia for the first time since 1917. Yeltsin hoped that this would benefit peasants and provide them a reason to embrace reforms, thus undermining their support for the communists.[
On 15 March, the Communist Party, which constituted the largest faction in the State Duma, moved to pass a (largely symbolic) non-binding resolution denouncing the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.][ This played right into Yeltsin's hands. Allegedly, Yeltsin's aides had laid the groundwork for the vote by giving nationalists in the Duma the go-ahead to vote with the Communists and by coordinating the proceedings so that only Yeltsin's least popular allies in parliament speak out against the resolution.][ When it passed, Yeltsin attacked the Communists by alleging that if one is to claim that the Soviet breakup was illegal, then one is effectively arguing that Russia itself is an illegitimate state. This, seemingly inconsequential, vote now positioned Zyuganov as an apparent extremist.][ Polling ultimately showed that less than a third of Russian's approved of the resolution.] The Communists proved unable to effectively respond to this development.[ Soon after this, Yeltsin's own poll numbers began to improve.][
On 24 March, Chernomydrin announced that Our Home is Russia would back Yeltsin's candidacy. He also announced his intention to form a broad coalition of parties to back Yeltsin's campaign.
On 27 March 1996, Yeltsin benefited from ]International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
director Michel Camdessus
Michel Camdessus (born 1 May 1933) is a French economist who served as the seventh managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1987 to 2000, the longest serving in that position. He previously served as the Governor of the Ba ...
' approval of a $10.2 billion loan for Russia.
Spring 1996
Throughout the Winter of 1996, Soskovets' strategy had been losing traction within Yelstin’s inner circle, and, at the start of Spring, the strategy was entirely abandoned when Yeltsin fired Soskovets as his campaign manager.[ As was detailed previously, new campaign leadership was added to the campaign, and a new strategy was adopted.][
Yeltsin's candidacy was officially filed on 3 April.] That same day, Democratic Russia leaders Lev Ponomaryov
Lev Aleksandrovich Ponomaryov (russian: Лев Алекса́ндрович Пономарёв, September 2, 1941) is a Russian political and civil activist. He is an executive director of the all-Russian movement "For Human Rights." He is a mem ...
and Gleb Yakunin
Gleb Pavlovich Yakunin (russian: Глеб Па́влович Яку́нин; 4 March 1936 – 25 December 2014) was a Russian priest and dissident, who fought for the principle of freedom of conscience in the Soviet Union. He was a member of ...
gave Yeltsin their personal endorsements, and encouraged members of their party to follow their lead.[
Immediately after officially filing his candidacy, Yeltsin launched his first campaign tour.][ He decided to travel to southern Russia's agricultural region, home to the Red Belt (where the Communists were particularly strong).][ He began his travels with a trip to the city of ]Belgorod
Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics
The population of B ...
.[ On his visit, Yeltsin was greeted with an unexpectedly warm reception. Thereafter, the Yeltsin campaign staff arranged an exhaustive travel schedule for the president and Yelstin campaigned vigorously, maintaining a high media profile.][ Yeltsin traveled around the country and visited factories, met with voters, and faced hecklers.][Вторая кампания Бориса Ельцина - 1996]
/ref> As an advantage of his incumbency, Yeltsin had the liberty of traveling on the presidential jet. In contrast, Zyuganov had to travel by commercial flights.[
For his second campaign trip after being registered as a candidate Yeltsin traveled to ]Krasnodar
Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southe ...
on 16 April.[ In Krasnodar, Yeltsin announced new state handouts, promised veterans that he would increase their pension 125% within a month, pledged greater benefits for the Cossacks, declared building relations with the ]Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
to be Russia's most important foreign policy concern, and announced his intention to sign decrees stimulating the economic development of Krasnodar Krai and Russia's agro-industrial complex. Yeltsin also declared that Russia's Black Sea Fleet, partly based in Krasnodar Krai, to be a, "indispensable element of Russian strategic security."[
Many of Yeltsin's early stump speeches had a forward-looking tone, promising a better future for all Russians, and seeking to reposition him as a unifying force in Russian politics.][ In an April speech Yeltsin said, Yeltsin worked diligently to convince Russian voters that he would be able to make it to the second round of the election and defeat Zyuganov. He was publicly dismissive of suggestions that a third force might coalesce.][The 1996 Russian presidential election / Jerry F. Hough, Evelyn Davidheiser, Susan Goodrich Lehmann. Brookings occasional papers.]
In April, for the first time, a number of polls were showing Yeltsin leading Zyuganov. Polls also showed that Yeltsin's support was higher amongst younger, urban, and higher-income Russians, while Zyuganov's support was higher amongst older, poorer, and rural voters.[ Polling showed signs that Yeltsin’s popularity had likely benefited somewhat from his recent announcement of plans to peacefully end the conflict in Chechnya.][ Yeltsin also was benefiting from the Communist Party running a relatively poor campaign. The Communists had been rather unsuccessful in their marketing of Zyuganov's candidacy, failing to create appealing messaging.][
During the nation's ]Victory Day (9 May)
etc.
, nickname =
, observedby = Russia and some former states of Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact; Serbia, Israel
, duration = 1 day
, frequency = Annual
, date = 9 May
, scheduling = same day each year
, celebrations ...
Celebration, Yeltsin gave an address to crowds in Red Square from atop Lenin's Tomb. He praised the Russian people, Russian soldiers, and the Allies (unlike Zyuganov, who failed to acknowledge the allied forces in the speech he delivered across town). After delivering his speech, Yeltsin broke with tradition and became the first Russian leader in 51 years to leave Moscow during the Victory Day celebration. Following a brief meeting with veterans in Gorky Park, he flew to Volgograd
Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...
(Stalingrad), the site of some of the fiercest fighting during the war. Yeltsin said that, although the Volgograd region had consistently voted Communist in past elections, he felt morally obligated to visit the site due to its importance. Upon arriving in Volgograd, Yeltsin was reportedly greeted by crowds carrying signs saying "We love you" and "Yeltsin is a democrat."
In early May, Yeltsin refused Zyuganov's challenge to hold a debate, saying,
He went on to say that he did not have time to debate all of the ten candidates, and it would not be fair to debate just one.[
Over the Victory Day weekend, Yeltsin's campaign began a heavy advertising campaign. This was in violation of election laws, which mandated that candidates could not run television, billboard, or radio advertisements earlier than 15 May.][ The advertisements were created for the campaign by the Russian advertising firm Video International.][ The advertisements starred veterans, and were commissioned by the Igor Malashenko (who was in charge of the campaign's image management and television advertising) to serve as the first step of an effort to Yeltsin's image among older voters.][
In May, Yeltsin's campaign saw a boost when ]The World Bank
The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development G ...
provided Russia a loan. Yeltsin's campaign got a boost from the announcement of a $10 billion loan to the Russian government from the International Monetary Fund.[ Yeltsin used trillions of rubles from the IMF loans to begin repaying government debt to state employees.][
At the 17 May CIS Summit in Moscow, leaders of the other nations that formerly composed the Soviet Union offered their collective endorsement of Yeltsin's candidacy.][
Yeltsin's campaign received a boost when, on 27 May, he and acting Chechen President ]Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev
Zelimkhan Abdulmuslimovich Yandarbiyev ( ce, Яндарбин Абдулмуслиман-кIант Зелимхан, romanized: ''Yandarbin Abdulmusliman-khant Zelimxan''; russian: link=no, Зелимхан Абдулмуслимович Я ...
signed a cease-fire. Following the signing ceremony, Yeltsin boarded a plane and immediately embarked on a surprise six-hour trip to Chechnya, where he visited soldiers and declared victory. This fulfilled a promise that Yeltsin had made that he would personally visit war-torn Chechnya before the day of the election.[
On 31 May, Yeltsin unveiled his official campaign platform in the city of ]Perm
Perm or PERM may refer to:
Places
*Perm, Russia, a city in Russia
** Permsky District, the district
**Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005
**Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005
**Perm Governorate, an administra ...
. The choice of location made headlines, as Perm was widely seen to favor the Communist Party.[ Perm was also thought to be especially unlikely to support Yeltsin because both the Liberal Democratic Party and the Communist Party had beaten pro-Yeltsin parties there months earlier in the 1995 legislative election.][ Yeltsin's campaign took a gamble by choosing to actively campaign in Perm, which ultimately paid-off when Yeltsin won the majority of its vote in the first round of the election, defeating Zyuganov by a wide-margin.][
]
Summer 1996
By the summer of 1996, all major polls showed Yeltsin making notable gains.
Back in April, Filatov sought for the campaign to avoid anti-Communist campaigning (as this risked providing Zyuganov free publicity). However, by June, he had revised his approach, and the campaign issued direct criticism of the Communist platform.[ Despite the decision to negatively campaign against the Communists, Yeltsin himself rarely made attacks on his opponents in his campaign speeches.
Near the end of the campaign, Dzhokhar Dudayev's widow endorsed Yeltsin for President of Russia. This further neutralized criticisms of his handling of the Chechen War.][
The campaign held ]GOTV
GOtv Africa is a pay television terrestrial service in sub-Saharan Africa owned by broadcaster MultiChoice. It mainly consists of African and international programming.
History
The terrestrial TV service was founded in October 2011 by MultiCho ...
in the run up to the day of the election. This included organizing rock concerts aimed at increasing youth turnout.[ A June concert at ]Red Square
Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...
drew 100,000 attendees.[ In cities such as Perm, concerts were held the weekend prior to the election.][
]
Result of the first round
The government's decision to allow a wide election-day voting window (with polls open from 8 AM to 10 PM) was believed to allow for a greater voter turnout. Experts speculated that a stronger turnout would benefit Yeltsin's campaign.[
Yeltsin confidently issued predictions that he would place first in the first-round. However, his campaign's leaders kept their cards fair closer to their chest. Ultimately, Yeltsin did win the first round, albeit by only 3 percentage points. In carrying 35% Yeltsin placed between five and ten points lower than public polling had predicted he would. However, he had placed relatively near the projections of the campaign's internal polling.][
Many in Yeltsin's camp were actually happy that the result was close. They believed that a close margin would help motivate pro-reformist voters to participate in the second round of voting. They had feared a landslide first-round result in his favor would lead Yeltsin's supporters to be less motivated to vote in the second round.][
Some viewed Yeltsin as benefiting from Russian voters in the 1996 election possessing a greater concern with choosing the candidate that championed the political and economic future that they preferred with Russia, rather than evaluating the incumbent's performance.][
Yeltsin had also benefited from the inadequacy of his opponents' campaign efforts. Much of the opposition were mired with technical ineptness, ideological confusion, and political baggage. Many of his opponents had effectively self-sabotaged their candidacies, making it completely unnecessary for Yeltsin to concentrate any efforts on combatting their candidacies.][
]
Campaigning in the second round
After the results of the first round were announced, Yeltsin's campaign publicly expressed confidence that was that Yeltsin was going to win the next round, declaring their belief that most of Yavlinski, Zhirinovski, Lebed and Fyodorov's supporters were going to vote for Yeltsin in the second round.[ To emphasize this anticipated coalition of support, Yeltsin's campaign adopted the slogan "Now we are united!"][
Two days after the first round of voting, Yeltsin hired Alexander Lebed as his national security advisor and, in return, received Lebed's endorsement.][https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1996/07/05/hard-up-workers-greet-yeltsin-win-with-little-joy/f675ef7e-ddfe-40cb-961a-70da0d476964/] During the first round, Yeltsin had brokered a secretive arrangement in which Lebed had agreed to support him in the second round.[
Entering the second round, the predominate concerns of voters were the war in Chechnya, skyrocketing prices, unemployment, and economic decline. Voters also desired for whoever won the presidency to oversee timely control over the payment of pensions and salaries and achieve peace in Chechnya.][ Yeltsin's campaign aimed to convince voters that Yeltsin was successfully implementing measures to address all of these concerns. They also sought to convince the voters that Russia would not suffer a second Perestroika.][
Early in the runoff, the campaign encountered major road bumps. Days after the first round the campaign had to handle controversy in the fallout of the Xerox Affair.][ Additionally, Yeltsin's health presented significant obstacle to the campaign.][
In addition to firings related to the aforementioned Xerox Affair, there were a number of other shakeups in Yeltsin's presidential administration. Yeltsin fired ]Pavel Grachev
Pavel Sergeyevich Grachev (russian: Па́вел Серге́евич Грачё́в; 1 January 1948 – 23 September 2012), sometimes transliterated as Grachov or Grachyov, was a Russian Army General and the Defence Minister of the Russian Fed ...
, at the request of Lebed.
A week into the runoff campaign, Yeltsin fell ill upon returning from a campaign visit to Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...
.[ Yeltsin himself publicly insisted it was merely a cold or sore throat.][ Despite their heavy efforts to cover-up Yeltsin's health problems, the campaign failed to entirely conceal from the public that the president's health had deteriorated significantly over the course of the campaign.][ Rumors variably alleged that Yeltsin was, in fact, suffering from exhaustion, a breakdown, or depression.][ Months after the election, it would be disclosed that he had, in fact, suffered a heart attack.]
For a period of time after the heart attack, Yeltsin ceased making campaign appearance and disappeared from public view. To cover up Yeltsin's absence, Yeltsin's campaign team created a "virtual Yeltsin" shown in the media through staged interviews that never happened and pre-recorded radio addresses. He later returned to the campaign trail, however, with a drastically lighter travel itinerary than he had in the first round.[
During the runoff campaign, one of the advertising agencies working for Yeltsin's campaign printed over a million adhesive-backed posters with Zyuganov's image on them and the warning, "This could be your last chance to buy food!" These posters appealed to a genuine fear of hunger amongst the Russian populace, and were plastered on the windows of food markets all across the country. This proved to be an effective scare tactic.][ Posters were printed by the campaign in the closing weeks which warned "The Communist Party hasn't changed its name and it won't change its methods".][ By evoking unpleasant memories of communist rule, the campaign hoped to spur turnout amongst anticommunist voters and weaken the coalition between nationalists and Communists.][
Despite the tone of his campaign material, a little more than a week before Election Day, Yeltsin indicated a willingness to work with the Communists declaring that he was, "ready for dialogue and co-operation with all those for whom the fate of Russia is a top priority", including "honest Communists".
Near the close of the runoff campaign, Lebed became a burden to the campaign. Lebed made several incendiary remarks, which attracted controversy. On 26 June, just a week before the election. While addressing an assembly of Cossacks on behalf of the campaign, Lebed said particular Russian religious sects, including Mormons, were "mold and scum" which had been "artificially brought into our country with the purpose of perverting, corrupting, and ultimately breaking up our state". In these remarks Lebed said that such "foul sects", needed to be outlawed be outlawed because they posed "a direct threat to Russia's security". He argued that Russia needed "established, traditional religions", which he named as being Russian Orthodoxy, Islam and Buddhism (noticeably omitting Judaism from this list of acceptable religions).][
On the day of the election, when Yeltsin made an appearance at a polling station in order to cast his own vote, he was described as appearing "shaky", drawing further concerns about his health.][
]
Result of the second round
Yeltsin won the final round of the election by a decisive margin, managing to defeat Zyuganov by nearly ten million votes.[ On the night of the election, Zyuganov publicly conceded the race to Yeltsin, and congratulated him on his victory.][
Yelstin was re-inaugurated as President the following month.
Yeltsin's reelection defied a pattern amongst post-Soviet transition democracies of nationalists unseating incumbent leaders during their immediate bids for reelection.][
]
Platform and positions
Yeltsin was generally seen as representing the status quo (as his reelection would effectively grant a continuation of his leadership and policies), whereas Zyuganov was seen as opposing the status quo.[ On some issues Yeltsin was seen as being to the right of Zyuganov, whilst on other issues he was perceived as being to the left of Zyuganov.][ Overall, however, Yeltsin was seen as a progressive or a liberal, while Zyuganov was seen as conservative. This primarily meant that Yeltsin was pro-reform and anti-communist, whilst Zyuganov was anti-reform and pro-communist.][ Yeltsin was characterized as a democrat, while Zyuganov was characterized as a nationalist.][
Yelstin was viewed as bolstering the causes of centrists, whilst Zyuganov was viewed as representing the nationalists.][
In early March 1996, Soskovets, still the de-juror chairman of the campaign, publicly outlined the themes of Yeltsin's campaign as being, social support, strengthening Russian statehood, fighting crime, and emphasizing how government activities were promoting stability.][
On 6 April 1996, Yeltsin addressed a congress of his supporters. He announced that he would delay unveiling his campaign platform, until following month, claiming this was to prevent his opponents from "distorting or using" his program. However, Yeltsin did provide a very general overview of what his program might entail. He spoke on the themes of the family, fighting crime,
ending the war in Chechnya, and strengthening CIS integration. Yeltsin promised that he would win so that "these elections will not be the last."]
On 31 May 1996, Yeltsin announced his official campaign program at an event in the city of Perm
Perm or PERM may refer to:
Places
*Perm, Russia, a city in Russia
** Permsky District, the district
**Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005
**Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005
**Perm Governorate, an administra ...
.[ The platform was detailed in a 127-page document entitled ''Russia: Individual, Family, Society, State''.][
His platform echoed much of his 1991 platform's rhetoric. It made promises to complete economic reform, to rewrite the tax code, compensate swindled investors, strengthen Russia's social welfare system and turn the nation's army into a modern professional fighting-force.][
In his platform, Yeltsin claimed to have pulled Russia back from the brink of catastrophe, bringing it toward a more definitive future. He took credit himself for overseeing the development of a multi-party democracy and the foundations of a liberal-market economy. He also credited himself for keeping Russia's territorial integrity intact, and reintegrating Russia with the world.][
In his platform, Yeltsin wrote,
]
Economic policy
Yeltsin promised to complete his economic reform, insisting that the reforms that had already been initiated should be carried-through. However, in an effort to boost his popularity, Yelstin promised to abandon some of his more unpopular economic reform measures.[ Yeltsin's enthusiasm for reform was markedly different than it had been in the early years of his presidency. Yeltsin now championed a more cautious and gradual approach to reform.]
Yeltsin also promised to rewrite the tax code and to compensate swindled investors.[
In late January 1996 and early February 1996, Yeltsin made promises to spend billions of dollars in support of coal miners in order to end workers strikes.][ This was the first of many populist spending promises Yeltsin would make during his campaign.][
Yelstin promised to pay wages and pension arrears][ and to raise pensions.][ In March, to demonstrate a willingness to deliver on his promises, Yeltsin doubled many pensions.][
Yeltsin promised easier loans to buy homes.][
Yeltsin promised to provide compensation to those that had lost their savings through the hyper-inflation of 1991-92. Such payments would be distributed in a manner prioritizing war veterans, the disabled, and elderly.][
Yeltsin promised farmers that he would cut their electricity expenses in half and would forgive nearly 23 trillion rubles in farm debt.][
]
Military
Yeltsin promised to turn the nation's army into a modern professional fighting force. Yeltsin adopted a position favoring the abolition of conscription, proposing a gradual end to the policy to be completed by the year 2000.[
Yeltsin believed that Russia needed to ensure its military security, spite a decrease in world tensions. He condemned ]NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
expansion saying that the West was trying to '"reinforce its world leadership." Yeltsin also called for military reform to adjust to the new strategic situation, arguing that instead of hundreds of divisions that exist only on paper, Russia's military needed, "a few dozen
divisions made up of entirely professionals."[
Yeltsin pledged to spend 2.8 trillion rubles on for research and development for defense sector.
Yeltsin called for adopting a strong nuclear deterrent policy.][
]
Ending the Chechen War
Yeltsin attempted to separate himself from taking responsibility for the unpopular military action in Chechnya, instead contending that his ministers should be the ones blamed.
Yeltsin pledged to end the war in Chechnya.[ He also promised to spend trillions of rubles rebuilding the war-torn region.][ During his campaign, Yeltsin falsely claimed that he was already achieving a peaceful end to the conflict. He even went as far as erroneously denying reports that armed conflict was actively ongoing.][ Yeltsin saw his candidacy as tilting upon the public's perception of his ability to deliver a peaceful to the conflict.][
On 31 March 1996, in a televised speech to the nation, Yeltsin announced his long-awaited peace initiative for Chechnya. He conceded that his administration would be willing to hold discussions with Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev, and would be willing to discuss some form of autonomy for Chechnya within the Russian Federation short of outright independence, perhaps modeled upon Tatarstan.][ He named Prime Minister Chernomyrdin, who was more favorably viewed by Chechens, as heading these efforts. He announced that troops would be withdrawn from areas already secured. He also announced amnesty would be granted to most Chechen fighters. However, in a deft political move, Yeltsin declared that the decisions as to which Chechens would be granted amnesty would be decided by the State Duma, which was controlled by the Communist Party.][
On 27 May 1996, Yeltsin's efforts received a boost when he and acting Chechen President ]Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev
Zelimkhan Abdulmuslimovich Yandarbiyev ( ce, Яндарбин Абдулмуслиман-кIант Зелимхан, romanized: ''Yandarbin Abdulmusliman-khant Zelimxan''; russian: link=no, Зелимхан Абдулмуслимович Я ...
signed a cease-fire agreement.[ This temporarily suspended military operations in the ]Chechen Republic
Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...
.
Social policy
Welfare
Yeltsin promised to increase welfare spending and strengthen the nation's social welfare system.[
Yeltsin promised to provide free transportation to the elderly.][ He also promised a significant increase in the amount of money given in monthly pensions.][
Yelstin promised that, for frozen regions of Northern Russia, he would subsidize children's holidays and build retirement homes in the south for their miners.][
Yeltsin promised to provide students with scholarships for science students, and better pension plans for teachers.][
]
Soviet reunification
Yeltsin made efforts to one-up the nationalists and communists on the issue of Soviet reunification by taking concrete actions. Yeltsin announced a series of agreements with states of the former Soviet Union pertaining to voluntary reunification.[
On 2 April 1996, Yeltsin and president ]Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лукашенко, Aleksandr Grigoryevich Luk ...
of Belarus signed a treaty calling for further cooperation between the two nations.[ The treaty would establish a ]Union State
The Union State,; be, Саю́зная дзяржа́ва Расі́і і Белару́сі, Sajuznaja dziaržava Rasii i Bielarusi, links=no. or Union State of Russia and Belarus,; be, Саю́зная дзяржа́ва, Sajuznaja dziar ...
. It would also establish a "Community of Sovereign Republics" that would include supranational bodies for the military, environmental, and technical fields. A common currency was envisioned by 1997, to be followed by a joint budget and constitution afterwards. However, the nations would keep their own flags and continue to be sovereign states.[
]
Image management
Within the campaign council, Malashenko was tasked with managing television advertising and enhancing the president's image.[ Additionally involved in shaping Yeltsin's image was Georgy Rogozin, who was given offices on the eighth floor of the President-Hotel.][
The campaign council hired the country's leading campaign advisers, image consultants and advertising agencies.][ Igor Mintusev and Yekaterina Yegerova of the campaign consulting firm Nikola M were both hired to work on Yeltsin's image.][ The campaign also employed a number of media consultants, who were tasked with placing favorable articles in national and regional publications.][
To boost his image as a reformer, and to downplay the visibility of his reliance om his secretive team of Kremlin advisors (which played negatively with the public), Yeltsin strategically made campaign appearances alongside notable political figures from outside of his inner-circle. These included Luzhkov and ]Boris Gromov
Boris Vsevolodovich Gromov (russian: Бори́с Все́володович Гро́мов; born 7 November 1943) is a prominent Russian military and political figure. From 2000 to 2012, he was the Governor of Moscow Oblast.
Biography
Born 7 ...
.[
During the campaign, Yeltsin's wife, ]Naina Yeltsina
Anastasia "Naina" Iosifovna Yeltsina (russian: link=no, Анастасия "Наина" Иосифовна Ельцина, , ; born 14 March 1932) is the widow of the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin.
Early life and education
Naina Yel ...
, normally a private individual, took a more public role, and met with the voters.[1932 - родилась Наина Иосифовна Ельцина]
Retrieved 24 April 2007
The campaign made use of a number of catch-phrases, including "chose or lose" and "vote with your heart".[The New Russia]
Personal health of Yeltsin
At 65 years old,[ Yeltsin's health had been in grave decline, with his infamously heavy consumption of alcohol being a contributing factor.][ By the time he had announced his reelection effort, Yeltsin was facing significant health problems. He was recovering from a series of heart attacks.][ In 1995 alone, Yeltsin had suffered three heart attacks.][
Yeltsin campaigned energetically during the first round of the election in an effort to dispel concerns about his health.][ Nonetheless, it was visible at times that his health was indeed declining while he was on the campaign trail.][ For the benefit of his health while campaigning, Yeltsin temporarily gave up his heavy drinking.][
Yeltsin's campaign worked to conceal his ailing health from the public.][
]
Media
Yeltsin's campaign organized the most sophisticated media effort that Russia had ever seen.[ While the Communist campaign relied on old-school techniques, such as campaign rallies and leafletting, Yeltsin's team commissioned firms to conduct focus-group research, polling, consulting, and ]direct mail
Advertising mail, also known as direct mail (by its senders), junk mail (by its recipients), mailshot or admail (North America), letterbox drop or letterboxing (Australia) is the delivery of advertising material to recipients of postal mail. The d ...
advertising on behalf of campaign.[
Throughout the first round of the election, Yeltsin maintained a high level of media presence.][ His approval benefited from this.][ Additionally, his wife made herself available for interviews with the media.][
In March 1996, NTV general director Igor Malashenko was made a member of Yeltsin's newly-established campaign council.][ Within the campaign council, Malashenko was tasked with managing television advertising and enhancing the president's image.] Malashenko commissioned Video International, the same firm that supplied NTV with most of its advertising and television programming, to produce television sports, posters and leaflets for the campaign.[ He awarded additional contracts for direct mail and posters to Mikhail Semenov, who owned Russia's largest direct mail firm.][
Rather than asking voters whether they were better off under his leadership, Yeltsin's campaign sought to ask voters whether they believed that they would be better or worse off under Zyuganov's leadership.][
]
Favorable media bias
The Yeltsin campaign successfully enlisted the national television channels (ORT, RTR, NTV) and most of the written press as agents in his campaign against Zyuganov.[
Supplementing the work of the numerous public relations and media firms that were hired by the campaign, a number of media outlets "volunteered" their services to Yeltsin's reelection effort. For instance, '']Kommersant
''Kommersant'' (russian: Коммерсантъ, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia ...
'' (one of the most prominent business newspapers in the country) published an anti-communist paper called ''Ne Dai Bog'' (meaning, "God forbid").[ At ORT, a special committee was placed in charge of planning a marathon of anticommunist films and documentaries to be broadcast on the channel ahead of the election.][
At the time of the 1991 presidential election, there had been two major television channels. RTR had supported Yeltsin, while ORT had criticized him and covered the views of a large number of his opponents. In the 1996 election, however, no major television network was critical of Yeltsin.] The networks marginalized all of Yeltsin's opponents aside from Zyuganov, helping to create the perception that there were only two viable candidates. This allowed Yeltsin to pose as the lesser-evil. Near the end of the election, however, the networks began also providing coverage to the candidacy of Lebed,[ who had already agreed to support Yeltsin in the second round.][
The European Institute for Media found that Yeltsin received 53% of all media coverage of the campaign, while Zyuganov received only 18%. In their evaluation of the biases of news stories, EIM awarded each candidate 1 point for every positive story they received and subtracted a point for every negative story they received. In the first round of the election, Yeltsin scored +492 and Zyuganov scored -313. In the second round of the election, Yeltsin scored +247 and Zyuganov scored -240.][
One of the reasons for the media's overwhelming favoritism of Yeltsin was their fear that a Communist government would dismantle Russia's right to a free press.]