Presidential election in Russia 2018

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The 2018 presidential election in Russia was the election of the President of the Russian Federation for the 2018-2024 term. It took place on March 18, 2018. The election was originally scheduled for March 11, but was postponed to the fourth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea by Russia .

According to the preliminary final result, the election in the first round was won by incumbent President Vladimir Putin with almost 77% of the vote. International election observers criticized the lack of competition in advance and documented various irregularities during the election.

Conditions for the admission of candidacies

The President of the Russian Federation is directly elected for a six-year term. A single re-election in a row is possible. According to Article 81 of the Constitution, every presidential candidate must be at least 35 years old and have been permanently resident in Russia for at least ten years. If no candidate is able to achieve an absolute majority in the first ballot , a runoff election would take place on April 8, 2018 .

Parties represented in the State Duma are allowed to nominate a candidate directly without having collected signatures. The Liberal Democratic Party and the Communist Party (KPRF) made use of this. The other four parties represented there, United Russia , Just Russia , Rodina and the Civic Platform did not nominate candidates, but instead each declared their support for the incumbent Putin.

Candidates from registered parties that are not represented in the State Duma must collect at least 100,000 signatures in order to be allowed to run in the election. No more than 2,500 signatures per federal subject may be collected, and no more than 2,500 from Russian citizens abroad.

Independent candidates - who must first be proposed by a notarized group of at least 500 people in order to be able to submit the documents required for approval for the collection of signatures - require 300,000 signatures, of which no more than 7,500 valid signatures may come from a federal subject, and no more than 7,500 of Russian citizens abroad.

These numbers have been significantly reduced compared to the previous 2012 presidential election ; at that time, an independent candidate had to collect 2 million signatures in a very short time, no more than 50,000 of them from any federal subject. Nevertheless, the reduced number of signatures was considered an extremely difficult hurdle to overcome.

16 candidates were admitted to the collection of signatures. 14 candidates belonged to registered parties. Five of them submitted the required 100,000 signatures, the remaining eight did not reach this number or gave up beforehand. Of the two independent candidates, only Putin achieved the goal of collecting signatures.

The eight approved candidates

Eight people were registered as presidential candidates, two from parties in the State Duma and five from other parties, along with Putin.

Wladimir Putin

The incumbent President Vladimir Putin served as President from 2000 to 2008 and again from 2012. His re-election was considered certain.

The re-election of Vladimir Putin in 2018 was considered certain due to the overwhelming majority of supporters in the Duma after the 2016 Duma election . In the opinion of some observers, however, it is precisely the lack of alternatives and the political apathy of the population with extremely low voter turnout resulting from the apparent immutability that could pose a political legitimacy problem for the current ruling party .

Putin long delayed announcing his renewed candidacy for president in 2018 and only announced it on December 6, 2017 in a speech to workers at a factory in Nizhny Novgorod . He did not publish an election program and declined to participate in televised debates with the other candidates.

In 2018, the annual message to the federal assembly - Putin's address to parliament - took place with a delay of several months and was integrated into the election campaign. It was presented on March 1st and was twice as long as the previous year. In the first part, Putin dealt with questions of domestic, social and economic policy . The speech took up key points from Medvedev's reform program from 2009. According to this, Russia is a stable great power with cutbacks in the social area. There is a need for reform with regard to demographic development, the level of poverty, life expectancy and security of pensions. Putin formulated new goals for economic growth, urban housing and the modernization of infrastructure. However, he did not name any measures how these goals could be achieved and reforms implemented. The second part of the speech dealt exclusively with the new nuclear weapons . Putin began with a complaint about the collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of superpower status . The new "invincible" weapon systems are able to break through the US missile defense and thus restore the " balance of terror ". With the help of videos and computer simulations, Putin presented the new Sarmat ICBM , the Kinschal hypersonic missile , a nuclear- powered cruise missile , a nuclear- powered underwater drone and the Awangard hypersonic rocket glider . In one of the videos, a nuclear attack on Florida was simulated. Russia will retaliate immediately for an attack on an ally. He did not comment on foreign policy issues - such as the situation in the Middle East , the war in Ukraine or the future of the European security system. Russian observers hailed the message as a signal of strength; the assembled guests from government, parliament, judiciary, business and culture applauded the speech.

On March 3, Putin held a major election rally in the Luzhniki Olympic Stadium . According to police, 80,000 people attended the event, including many celebrities, representatives of the National Liberation Movement and athletes such as the national ice hockey team . Before Putin's appearance, speakers warmed up the crowd. The official representative of the campaign team, businessman Igor Ashmanov, shouted: “We are a warring country, make no mistake. We have a commander in chief. He gathers territories, wins wars and introduces new weapons. How can a warring country replace its commander in chief? ”In his short speech, Putin promised future victories. Meanwhile, there were indications that tens of thousands of those present had been pressured to attend the event. Students, state and private employees were affected. The Guardian reported that an in-house email instructed employees of a Moscow company to pick up election posters, form groups and take photos upon arrival at the stadium. An employee of the company expressed concern that his wages would be cut if he did not attend. Other attendees were paid to show up. The website “Rent-a-Crowd” was looking for participants between the ages of 20 and 55 for a fee of 500 rubles (approx. 7 euros). Protesters were quickly arrested by the police.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky

Vladimir Zhirinovsky

Vladimir Zhirinovsky was a member of the Duma for the right-wing extremist - nationalist spectrum of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia ( LDPR ) since 1993. He was automatically registered as a candidate for a Duma party; he was the first admitted candidate. Zhirinovsky ran for the office of president for the sixth time, his best result in 2008 with 9.34%.

Zhirinovsky announced in June 2015 that he wanted to run as a candidate. In July of the same year, he said that his party would likely put up a "more suitable person" as a candidate. In March 2016, he named Igor Lebedev as a potential candidate . On October 28, 2016, the candidacy of Vladimir Zhirinovsky was announced on the official website of the LDPR.

Pavel Grudinin

Pavel Grudinin

On December 23, 2017, at the Congress of the Communist Party, it was unexpectedly not the party leader Gennady Zyuganov , but the agricultural entrepreneur Pavel Grudinin that was elected as the presidential candidate. He is the head of the “Lenin” sovkhoz and was a member of the United Russia party for the Duma of Moscow Oblast from 1997 to 2011 , before running as a candidate for the KPRF in 2011 and 2016.

On January 12, 2018, the Central Electoral Commission registered him as a candidate, he was the second admitted candidate. In terms of foreign policy, like Zhirinovsky, he calls for the annexation of the Ukrainian territorial authorities Donetsk and Luhansk , thus making Putin appear as a moderate politician.

Maxim Suraikin

Maxim Suraikin has been party leader of the Communists of Russia since 2012 (not to be confused with the Communist Party of Russia , the KPRF). The party's central committee announced its nomination as a candidate for the election in February 2017. Suraikin said that he wants to come in at least second place and defeat Zyuganov's large Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

Xenia Sobchak

Xenia Sobchak

In addition to the opposing candidates, some of whom have been known for years, the TV presenter Xenija Sobchak announced her candidacy in October 2017 , which, according to the consensus, made the election more interesting: The increase in the political weight of the election through the expected debates and the expected higher turnout was in Interest of the Kremlin. While Putin had not commented on his own candidacy until November 2017, Sobchak's candidacy, which was conspicuously supported by the state media, was used in comments as a “facade” (in the Spiegel ) or as an aid to the Kremlin to “maintain a semblance of democracy” (in the NZZ ). Also because the presidential administration leaked her candidacy a month earlier, she was perceived as a “candidacy by Putin's grace” or as a candidacy for the opposition. This was also seen in the independent media: Rostislaw Turovsky called the candidacy a matter agreed with the authorities, while Arkadij Dubnow stated that the candidacy was beneficial for the administration regardless of the background. Political scientist Jekatarina Schulman said the election was more of a show than of being politically organized.

Xenia Sobchak was a candidate for the Grashdanskaya Iniziatiwa party ( Гражданская инициатива ), which is not represented in the State Duma or in any regional parliament. Since the party has been officially registered since 2013, it had to collect 100,000 signatures. On December 26, 2017, the Central Election Commission allowed her to open the voting account, from which all expenses in connection with the elections - including the financing of the collection of signatures - must be met.

All political commentators agreed that Sobchak's candidacy was only possible with Putin's approval. After she was therefore viewed by many as a political lightweight and completely dependent on Putin, her militant and oppositional tone in the election campaign surprised. In several events she clearly criticized the supposedly corrupt political clashes surrounding the president and also spoke out against the annexation of Crimea . Regarding the economic situation in Russia, she said that, apart from arms and oil, Russia had no products to sell on world markets. There are “apart from rockets” no Russian products to be proud of. The proceeds from the oil produced by state-owned companies are also stolen by thieving state officials. Some political commentators suggested that the Kremlin may have misjudged her in accepting Sobchak to run for office.

The Putin and Sobchak families have been politically linked for many years. Xenia Sobchak's father, Anatoli Sobchak , was one of Putin's supporters as Lord Mayor of Saint Petersburg in the 1990s .

Boris Titov

Boris Titov

Boris Titow has been the President's Commissioner for Entrepreneurial Rights since 2012. Titov began his political career with "United Russia", after which he was a member of the Grahdanskaya sila party , later a member of Prawoje delo , where he played a key role in the break-up of the penultimate opposition party in Russia before 2012, SPS ( Soyuz prawych sil ). He later chaired Prawoje delo ; the party was renamed Partija Rosta (“Growth Party”) in 2016 and has 4 seats (of around 4,000) in regional parliaments; including 3 in the Petersburg city parliament. The best-known member is the former Duma deputy from " Just Russia ", Oxana Dmitrieva. Titov said he was convinced that Putin would win the elections. To justify why he was running as a candidate at all, he said that he wanted to initiate a change of course in economic policy. In the future Russia would have to export not only raw materials, but products. In an interview with the BBC on March 8, 2018, he described corruption as Russia's biggest problem.

Grigori Jawlinski

Grigori Jawlinski

Grigori Jawlinski , liberal Russian politician and economist, chairman of the Yabloko party . In 1990 he was involved in the development of a reform program to liberalize the Soviet economy, which, however, was not implemented in the form he advocated. He was running for the 1996 presidential election and received 7.4%, in 2000 he received 5.8%. In 2012 he was not admitted because, according to the Russian election authorities, around 25% of the two million supporters' signatures were forged.

Sergei Baburin

Sergei Baburin

"Russian People's League" party ( Rossijski obschtschenarodny sojus ), employee of the Institute for Social Policy Research. The lawyer with a doctorate from the University of Leningrad was one of the few in the Supreme Soviet in 1991 who voted against the dissolution of the Soviet Union . He was a member of the Duma from 1993 to 2000 and from 2003 to 2007.

Television debates

A debate between the presidential candidates took place on February 27, 2018. It was broadcast on the state television broadcaster Rossiya 1 on February 28 . With the exception of Vladimir Putin, all candidates took part. The debate, which was supposed to focus on foreign policy issues, was chaotic and marked by personal attacks and mutual yelling. The discussion ended with Xenia Sobchak pouring a glass of water over Vladimir Zhirinovsky's head. Schirinowski had previously called her an "idiot" and ordered her to shut up. "Throw out this prostitute, this filth! The last whore! ”He called at the end. The opposition saw the debate as a staged spectacle. The voters should get the impression that Vladimir Putin, who stayed away from the event, is the only sensible and solid choice, whereas the seven opposing candidates are not a serious alternative.

In a debate on March 1, in which Putin again did not take part, candidate Grudinin accused the Central Electoral Commission and state television channels of staging a "show". The debates are designed as a “circus”. Grudinin was exposed to critical reporting in state media in advance. He left the studio during the recording.

During a debate on March 14th, Sobchak complained with tears in his eyes about Shirinovsky's insults against her. "This person calls me a whore and a filthy witch in your program and you allow that every time," she told host Vladimir Solovyov . He was not allowed to interrupt the candidates, but the level of political culture also frightened him, said Solovyov. "That is the culture that you offer us," replied Sobchak.

The last debate aired on March 15, three days before the election. All candidates except Putin were present. This time, too, there was a scandal. Suraikin brought a woman as a surprise guest who accused Grudinin of evicting her family from their apartment. Grudinin then left the stage and was replaced by his representative Maksim Shevchenko, who insulted Suraikin several times. Suraikin then threatened Grudinin's agent with physical violence before he was taken away by security personnel.

Critics compared the debates to tasteless reality TV and afternoon talk shows . Michael Link from the OSCE Election Observation Mission said that the election campaign was marked by an omnipresent presidential candidate on the one hand and seven "other" candidates on the other hand, who made each other badly in low-level television debates.

Election observation

Prior to the election, the Kremlin had made independent foreign election observation increasingly difficult. The Ministry of Justice added a German organization to the list of "undesirable organizations" for the first time. The European Platform for Democratic Elections , based in Berlin, specializes in civil society election observation and is funded by the Federal Foreign Office and the European Commission, among others. The Lithuanian organization International Elections Study Center was also declared “undesirable”. Since 2015, 13 foreign election observation organizations have been included in the register. They are prohibited from doing any activity in Russia, and employees may face entry bans.

The Golos election observation association complained in advance of massive pressure on independent election observers. Golos had documented forgeries in the 2012 presidential election. In the same year, the Ministry of Justice declared the organization a "foreign agent" . In 2018, the electoral commission refused to register observers who wanted to be accredited as journalists through a medium connected with Golos. The organization therefore relies on candidates and parties who are allowed to send observers (see election observation by representatives of the candidates). Golos reported persecution by the Kremlin media and harassment by police and authorities.

On election day, 482 election observers were active on behalf of the OSCE throughout Russia, excluding the occupied Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. The organization criticized the lack of competition in the presidential election. In fact, there was no choice. Despite procedural errors during the voting and counting of votes, the process was basically correct. OSCE's Michael Link said the OSCE had not detected any organized manipulation by noon on election day. There were democratic deficits in advance, for example due to the exclusion of serious competitors and various pressures on voters. According to Jan Petersen from the OSCE, cases of multiple votes have been registered.

In addition, observers from the various candidates and their parties were present at the polling stations. They came to different assessments. The communist applicant Grudinin commented negatively on irregularities such as the possibility of multiple votes and general fairness. In contrast, the candidate Sobchak said that the election was more transparent than in the past.

The Russian government itself invited 300 politicians and other personalities to observe the election. Among them were at least eight members of the Bundestag of the AfD , among them Waldemar Herdt , Anton Friesen , Markus Frohnmaier , Steffen Kotré and Dietmar Friedhoff . AfD politician Ulrich Oehme also traveled to Crimea, which was annexed by Russia.

Survey results

Ballot

According to a telephone interview conducted by the Russian Opinion Research Center between January 29 and February 4, 2018, the following results would be expected with a turnout of 79.3%:

candidate Survey score
Putin 71.4%
Grudinine 6.9%
Zhirinovsky 5.7%
Sobchak 1.3%
Jawlinski 0.7%
Titov 0.4%

The only independent polling institute in Russia, the Levada Center , was banned from publishing poll results until the elections because of its classification as a “foreign agent”. The last figures from the Lewada Center are from December 2017. According to this, 30 percent of those surveyed “definitely” intended to vote and a further 28 percent “probably” want to vote.

A low turnout, even with an overwhelming victory for the incumbent, can call the legitimacy of the election result into question and indicate dissatisfaction among the population, especially if there is no real opposing candidate. In the last nationwide election - the 2016 Duma election - there had been a significant drop in voter turnout. Accordingly, in the run-up to the presidential election, the government tried to increase the official turnout figures. For this purpose, the Central Electoral Commission planned to spend 700 million rubles (the equivalent of almost 10 million euros). Campaigners were tasked with making suggestions on how to increase voter turnout. Eligible voters received personal emails or visits from local government officials or members of the electoral commission in the constituency. Some polling stations offered voters concert tickets, free cancer screenings, discounted groceries, and prizes like iPhones and iPads . A selective mobilization of certain population groups (e.g. state employees, pensioners, rural population) took place in past nationwide elections. It was feared that the turnout of young people would be particularly low. In order to mobilize men between the ages of 18 and 24, the Russian edition of the men's magazine Maxim printed stickers with pin-up models with the message that voting is part of adulthood. The magazine gave no information about who had funded the action. Young voters were also attracted by entertainment and competitions, and targeted election advertising on social media. A video posted on social media warned that those who refused to vote risk turning Russia into a gay-friendly state, where old people are drafted into military service by black officers. Sobchak and the opposition condemned the clip as homophobic and inciting violence.

Election observers and local media reported threats and coercion of voters to re-register at their workplace and later report to their employers that they had voted. Workers in the Perm region have been warned that their voting behavior will be communicated to their managers. Ella Pamfilowa , the head of the electoral commission, promised to respond to such complaints. Golos election observers reported that institutions such as hospitals and schools are also pressuring voters to vote. There have been requests to send photos from the voting booth as proof of voting behavior.

Not allowed as a candidate

Alexei Navalny

The lawyer Alexei Navalny was not admitted as a candidate.

The opposition politician Alexei Navalny was banned from running for the presidential election on June 23, 2017 by the Central Election Commission. Previously, Navalny had been sentenced to probation for embezzlement and embezzlement. While the proceedings were still going on, Putin introduced a bill to the Duma that forbids convicts from running for elections. Navalny himself and his supporters described the whole trial as staged by the Kremlin with the aim of keeping him away from running and called for a boycott of the elections. The European Court of Human Rights also described the judgment as "obviously unreasonable" and "arbitrary". The government critic, who, according to the government, had violated the right to demonstrate several times, would have had no chance of being allowed to vote against Putin, according to surveys by state opinion research institutes.

Alexander Tschuchlebow

The entrepreneur Alexander Tschuchlebow was first allowed to collect signatures; however, the Central Election Commission tried to have its own decision revoked by the courts. Tschuchlebow allegedly has dual citizenship - in addition to Russian and Finnish - which is prohibited for presidential candidates.

Other not admitted candidates

The following candidates have been admitted to the collection of signatures, but have not achieved the required number of signatures or withdrew their candidacy during the collection phase.

  • Elwira Agurbasch , Alliance of the Greens , manager of the Mortadel sausage company
  • Anton Bakov , Party of the Monarchist Party of the Russian Federation , Member of the Duma 2003–2007, party leader of the Monarchist Party since 2012. Entrepreneur. Announced his candidacy on September 29, 2017, and withdrew it in January 2018.
  • Roman Chudjakow, LDPR party , former member of the Duma, from Transnistria
  • Ekaterina Gordon , Good Deeds Party, TV presenter. She wanted to "abolish the office of president and introduce a truly democratic system".
  • Mikhail Kozlov , Social Protection Party, entrepreneur
  • Natalija Lisitsyna , Red Front party, crane operator, would have been the first candidate from a craft or worker occupation in presidential elections in modern Russia.
  • Stanislav Polishchuk , Social Reform Party
  • Irina Volynets, People's Party of Russia
  • Vladimir Mikhailov, independent, is the director of FEST (active in pharmacy supplies) and a member of parliament for the Yabloko party in the regional Duma of Kostroma Oblast

Change of election date

Originally, the presidential elections always took place on the second Sunday in March. On March 3, 2017, the State Duma adopted a draft law, which was signed by President Putin in May 2017, according to which the presidential elections should now always take place on the third Sunday in March. Therefore, the election was moved from March 11, 2018 to March 18, 2018, the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea .

Choice in Crimea

The European Union had already announced in advance that it would not recognize the results of the Russian presidential election on the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. EU Foreign Affairs Representative Federica Mogherini said the EU would fully implement its non-recognition policy and called on Russia to respect the rights of Ukrainian citizens. Austria's Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen also warned that Moscow could not hold a legal election on the Crimean peninsula because the annexation of Crimea was illegal.

The EU and the OSCE had made it clear that they would not send any election observers to Crimea, as both organizations do not see it as a legitimate part of Russia. The Russian authorities then invited a number of friendly and sometimes marginalized foreign politicians to give the elections in Crimea the appearance of international acceptance. Leonid Sluzki , the chairman of Parliament's foreign affairs committee, named Andreas Maurer from the Left Party , Hendrik Weber from an organization called People Diplomacy Norway, Pedro Agramunt and Thierry Mariani . Russia commissioned Slutski's own organization, the Russian Peace Foundation, and the Polish association European Council on Democracy and Human Rights , which had brought election observers from right-wing populist and right-wing extremist circles to Crimea in the past to organize their trips .

Procedure, irregularities and allegations of electoral fraud

Since the Russian territory extends over eleven time zones , the election took place over two days. The first to open were the polling stations in the Far East in Kamchatka and in the Chukchi Autonomous Okrug, and last (ten hours later) the polling stations in Kaliningrad Oblast .

Irregularities and violations were reported across the country during the election. Election observers from the Russian organization Golos, whose work had been severely disrupted beforehand, counted around 1,800 irregularities by noon CET , including the placing of ballot boxes out of sight of surveillance cameras and obstruction of observers at work and when entering the polling stations. After the polls closed, Golos had registered over 3,000 irregularities across the country. According to the opposition, the police drove many voters to various polling stations in buses, so that large groups of voters suddenly appeared in the polling stations early in the morning. Falsifications such as the “stuffing” of urns and multiple votes are said to have been observed, and discount vouchers were also distributed to voters. Ballot boxes were also reported from the more remote regions on Sunday, which are said to have contained slips of paper when the polling stations opened.

Opposition and non-governmental observers reported that a new regulation was being abused that allows applications to be submitted not at home but at other places of residence. Golos cited reports from students and employees who were pressured to submit requests to vote at the place of work or study so that their participation in the election can be verified. There have been reports of voters taking cell phone photos of their ballot papers, possibly because they were expected to show them to someone later. Supporters of Alexei Navalny, who said they had sent more than 33,000 observers to the election offices, also reported alleged electoral fraud. Bashkortostan , Moscow and the surrounding region and Saint Petersburg , where Putin has comparatively little support, were particularly affected . A video was posted on Nawalny's website showing how counterfeit ballot papers were stuffed into the ballot boxes at a polling station. Several polling stations in Kamchatka and Chukotka reported a 100 percent turnout. Associated Press journalists verified multiple video recordings, photos, and reports of multiple votes, attacks on election observers, coercive voting, and tricks to hear voter turnout.

The OSCE election observation mission complained the day after the election that there was no real competition. In the vote, therefore, there was in fact no selection. The election observers in Moscow announced that the polls were marked by pressure from critical voices. "An election without real competition, as we have seen, is not the right choice," the OSCE said in a statement. Election observers registered undue pressure on voters to increase voter turnout. According to the OSCE, there have been individual cases of serious irregularities such as multiple votes and group votes.

Journalists from the Reuters news agency observed the election process in twelve polling stations and reported that the official turnout exceeded the number of registered voters and that the turnout in 9 of 12 polling stations differed by more than 10 percent from the official figures. The reporters found the biggest discrepancy at a polling station in Simferopol on the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. The reporters counted 797 voters, according to the Russian electoral commission, however, 1,325 people voted. In three polling stations the polling officers did not count the ballot papers and in one polling station in Ust-Dscheguta the polling officers entered more votes for Putin than the ballot papers cast. Reuters also documented cases of so-called “carousel” votes in which people cast their votes several times in a row. The Central Election Commission, to which photos of the voters were presented, did nothing, stating that the twins could be involved and that the election workers had not noticed any irregularities. The journalists also discovered a flaw in the new voter registration system, which allows registration in multiple locations. Reuters reporters who had voted at the place of residence were given permission to vote a second time at a different polling station.

Ella Pamfilowa, the head of the Central Election Commission, said that they would react quickly to cases of election fraud. For example, officials in Rostov-on-Don had sealed a ballot box into which a person had previously stuffed several ballot papers.

Results

Vladimir Putin won an absolute majority in all federal subjects as well as on the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea
Results for Pawel Nikolajewitsch Grudinin
Results for Wladimir Wolfowitsch Schirinowski
Results for Xenija Anatolyevna Sobchak

Total data

Statistical size number percent
Valid ballot papers 72.768.144 98.92
Invalid ballot 790.788 1.08
Voters in the Russian Federation 73.105.591 99.38
Voters abroad 443,682 0.60
Voters in Baikonur 9659 0.01
Total voters (turnout 67.49%) 73,558,932 100.00
Eligible voters in the Russian Federation 108,521,360 99.56
Eligible voters abroad 461.435 0.42
Eligible voters in Baikonur 14,575 0.01
Registered voters 108.997.370 100.00

Results by candidate

The election winner was the incumbent President Vladimir Putin with almost 77% of the vote. Putin achieved his best ever result in a presidential election. In the presidential election in 2000 he received 52.9%, in the election in 2004 71.3% and in 2012 64.4%.

rank candidate number percent
1. Wladimir Putin 56,411,688 76.69
2. Pavel Grudinin 8,659,052 11.77
3. Vladimir Zhirinovsky 4,155,022 5.65
4th Xenia Sobchak 1,237,692 1.68
5. Grigori Jawlinski 769.618 1.05
6th Boris Yuryevich Titov 556,829 0.76
7th Maxim Suraikin 499.306 0.68
8th. Sergei Baburin 478.937 0.65
Invalid ballot 790.788 1.08

Results by federal subjects and in the Crimea

The following table lists the results by federal subjects and in the Crimea as published by the Central Electoral Commission.

Federation subject Baburin Grudinine Zhirinovsky Putin Sobchak Suraikin Titov Jawlinski
number % number % number % number % number % number % number % number %
Adygea 1165 0.47% 28711 11.48% 8923 3.57% 203095 81.17% 2060 0.82% 1317 0.53% 1088 0.43% 1197 0.48%
Altai Republic 446 0.43% 21259 20.66% 5376 5.22% 72674 70.62% 929 0.90% 431 0.42% 340 0.33% 483 0.47%
Bashkortostan 15845 0.69% 277797 12.09% 115635 5.03% 1784626 77.69% 28983 1.26% 20429 0.89% 15891 0.69% 19390 0.84%
Buryatia 1746 0.38% 66867 14.74% 29087 6.41% 334381 73.72% 7618 1.68% 2471 0.54% 1822 0.40% 3631 0.80%
Dagestan 1781 0.12% 103942 7.28% 3830 0.27% 1295128 90.76% 3741 0.26% 4395 0.31% 5379 0.38% 2465 0.17%
Ingushetia 1580 0.88% 10187 5.67% 6570 3.66% 149488 83.17% 2974 1.65% 677 0.38% 3304 1.84% 4251 2.37%
Kabardino-Balkaria 1222 0.25% 20133 4.15% 5006 1.03% 452480 93.38% 1121 0.23% 1141 0.24% 1658 0.34% 1171 0.24%
Kalmykia 502 0.36% 16399 11.66% 2734 1.94% 114833 81.66% 2117 1.51% 675 0.48% 632 0.45% 937 0.67%
Karachay Cherkessia 676 0.27% 17819 6.99% 7075 2.77% 223534 87.64% 1132 0.44% 2533 0.99% 454 0.18% 747 0.29%
Republic of Karelia 2343 0.79% 33693 11.35% 23254 7.83% 216899 73.04% 6777 2.28% 1927 0.65% 3201 1.08% 5215 1.76%
Republic of Komi 3234 0.79% 46094 11.33% 41680 10.24% 290716 71.44% 8179 2.01% 3215 0.79% 3809 0.94% 4080 1.00%
Crimea 2098 0.19% 23773 2.20% 19506 1.81% 994569 92.15% 17764 1.65% 2267 0.21% 2785 0.26% 5138 0.48%
Mari El 2013 0.56% 51873 14.55% 24516 6.88% 263725 73.99% 4821 1.35% 2028 0.57% 2128 0.60% 2144 0.60%
Mordovia 1863 0.39% 33894 7.12% 20758 4.36% 406480 85.35% 3561 0.75% 2781 0.58% 1636 0.34% 1726 0.36%
Sakha (Yakutia) 1696 0.37% 124518 27.25% 18089 3.96% 294166 64.38% 7494 1.64% 1711 0.37% 2010 0.44% 2604 0.57%
North Ossetia-Alania 1071 0.23% 51026 11.01% 13954 3.01% 377648 81.51% 1034 0.22% 8398 1.81% 5699 1.23% 1017 0.22%
Tatarstan 13030 0.58% 204618 9.06% 67929 3.01% 1854119 82.09% 29951 1.33% 37969 1.68% 13361 0.59% 19643 0.87%
Tuva 406 0.25% 5762 3.51% 2809 1.71% 150795 91.98% 1779 1.09% 439 0.27% 339 0.21% 451 0.28%
Udmurtia 4958 0.66% 84981 11.33% 50859 6.78% 571623 76.23% 11518 1.54% 5301 0.71% 6188 0.83% 5142 0.69%
Khakassia 1567 0.64% 45276 18.46% 17610 7.18% 169615 69.16% 3372 1.37% 1593 0.65% 1624 0.66% 1605 0.65%
Chechnya 7679 1.18% 30012 4.62% 1631 0.25% 593806 91.44% 3531 0.54% 2093 0.32% 3285 0.51% 4848 0.75%
Chuvashia 3710 0.53% 85780 12.30% 36890 5.29% 539036 77.29% 9500 1.36% 4907 0.70% 3950 0.57% 3878 0.56%
Altai region 7581 0.64% 281978 23.67% 84785 7.12% 770278 64.66% 11788 0.99% 7855 0.66% 5532 0.46% 7259 0.61%
Transbaikalia region 2450 0.53% 62375 13.62% 45804 10.00% 329911 72.03% 4750 1.04% 2772 0.61% 2111 0.46% 2095 0.46%
Kamchatka Region 912 0.56% 27432 16.95% 13733 8.48% 112401 69.44% 2210 1.37% 966 0.60% 1131 0.70% 1159 0.72%
Krasnodar Territory 15876 0.50% 316316 10.04% 144008 4.57% 2564012 81.35% 30697 0.97% 17100 0.54% 21413 0.68% 16461 0.52%
Krasnoyarsk Territory 8072 0.64% 161925 12.78% 93628 7.39% 941151 74.28% 20415 1.61% 8479 0.67% 7761 0.61% 11225 0.89%
Perm region 9624 0.73% 138977 10.55% 90132 6.84% 993076 75.35% 28963 2.20% 10154 0.77% 11859 0.90% 16918 1.28%
Primorye region 6605 0.73% 193166 21.39% 63754 7.06% 589384 65.26% 15079 1.67% 5814 0.64% 6676 0.74% 8019 0.89%
Stavropol region 7593 0.55% 157345 11.33% 58778 4.23% 1118523 80.55% 11656 0.84% 8008 0.58% 6985 0.50% 6130 0.44%
Khabarovsk region 4612 0.71% 119389 18.42% 60414 9.32% 426385 65.78% 11199 1.73% 4485 0.69% 5354 0.83% 5435 0.84%
Amur Oblast 2358 0.60% 73485 18.62% 37909 9.61% 264493 67.04% 4428 1.12% 2466 0.63% 2080 0.53% 1951 0.49%
Arkhangelsk Oblast 4448 0.82% 51868 9.59% 46925 8.67% 407190 75.27% 10588 1.96% 3842 0.71% 4982 0.92% 6239 1.15%
Astrakhan Oblast 2185 0.49% 64047 14.40% 19339 4.35% 342195 76.95% 5060 1.14% 2823 0.63% 2233 0.50% 2504 0.56%
Belgorod Oblast 5218 0.58% 93102 10.43% 49685 5.57% 711392 79.71% 8474 0.95% 6534 0.73% 4835 0.54% 4445 0.50%
Bryansk Oblast 4472 0.57% 68375 8.77% 43940 5.64% 636087 81.60% 7463 0.96% 4265 0.55% 4175 0.54% 3524 0.45%
Vladimir Oblast 5440 0.73% 93649 12.63% 58822 7.93% 546042 73.65% 10777 1.45% 5075 0.68% 6098 0.82% 6147 0.83%
Volgograd Oblast 8040 0.67% 140708 11.74% 69909 5.83% 929541 77.55% 14403 1.20% 8116 0.68% 6851 0.57% 10242 0.85%
Vologda Oblast 5184 0.83% 75644 12.08% 54556 8.71% 453576 72.41% 13365 2.13% 4567 0.73% 5333 0.85% 8048 1.28%
Voronezh Oblast 7830 0.65% 136435 11.30% 64905 5.37% 952642 78.88% 13024 1.08% 8561 0.71% 7277 0.60% 7561 0.63%
Ivanovo Oblast 4286 0.90% 70211 14.81% 37408 7.89% 338335 71.37% 7772 1.64% 3526 0.74% 3696 0.78% 4142 0.87%
Irkutsk Oblast 5480 0.52% 166540 15.93% 67373 6.44% 763810 73.06% 12646 1.21% 5240 0.50% 5339 0.51% 7545 0.72%
Kaliningrad Oblast 3395 0.68% 50755 10.20% 29893 6.01% 379875 76.35% 12640 2.54% 3319 0.67% 4772 0.96% 7299 1.47%
Kaluga Oblast 4197 0.77% 59802 11.00% 37905 6.97% 414027 76.16% 8070 1.48% 3943 0.73% 4200 0.77% 5071 0.93%
Kemerovo Oblast 7972 0.48% 101153 6.07% 83777 5.03% 1422919 85.42% 14002 0.84% 7556 0.45% 7213 0.43% 10471 0.63%
Kirov Oblast 5157 0.78% 90650 13.70% 63771 9.64% 465948 70.41% 11034 1.67% 5655 0.85% 5784 0.87% 6303 0.95%
Kostroma Oblast 2665 0.83% 52135 16.18% 29834 9.26% 221449 68.71% 4852 1.51% 2309 0.72% 2879 0.89% 3106 0.96%
Kurgan Oblast 2682 0.62% 59425 13.67% 38002 8.74% 318703 73.30% 4590 1.06% 3020 0.69% 2178 0.50% 2313 0.53%
Kursk Oblast 3421 0.57% 56948 9.57% 33326 5.60% 482257 81.01% 5631 0.95% 3316 0.56% 2640 0.44% 2527 0.42%
Leningrad Oblast 6136 0.69% 78545 8.82% 48465 5.44% 703423 79.01% 18715 2.10% 5655 0.64% 8129 0.91% 10719 1.20%
Lipetsk Oblast 3834 0.57% 67299 10.03% 33739 5.03% 542199 80.83% 6714 1.00% 3994 0.60% 3259 0.49% 3494 0.52%
Magadan Oblast 417 0.57% 10364 14.05% 6185 8.38% 53341 72.30% 1007 1.36% 408 0.55% 458 0.62% 491 0.67%
Moscow Oblast 26448 0.71% 476897 12.88% 203869 5.50% 2758911 74.49% 78893 2.13% 24523 0.66% 36133 0.98% 49664 1.34%
Murmansk Oblast 2827 0.71% 35240 8.86% 31434 7.90% 303796 76.37% 8931 2.25% 2578 0.65% 3426 0.86% 4660 1.17%
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast 12037 0.70% 183465 10.62% 111744 6.47% 1334417 77.27% 27728 1.61% 12320 0.71% 14053 0.81% 16107 0.93%
Novgorod Oblast 2345 0.81% 36661 12.73% 22000 7.64% 209286 72.65% 5303 1.84% 2420 0.84% 2456 0.85% 4143 1.44%
Novosibirsk Oblast 8473 0.65% 213707 16.39% 85790 6.58% 926858 71.06% 21067 1.62% 8005 0.61% 9080 0.70% 14654 1.12%
Omsk Oblast 10496 1.13% 189303 20.39% 57901 6.24% 624934 67.31% 14282 1.54% 5653 0.61% 5832 0.63% 7592 0.82%
Orenburg Oblast 6137 0.61% 155156 15.47% 67777 6.76% 731838 72.97% 11539 1.15% 7846 0.78% 6003 0.60% 5748 0.57%
Oryol Oblast 3210 0.70% 55482 12.18% 27617 6.06% 349743 76.77% 5777 1.27% 3187 0.70% 3187 0.70% 2698 0.59%
Penza Oblast 4616 0.59% 78135 9.98% 43823 5.60% 625928 79.98% 9048 1.16% 5614 0.72% 4037 0.52% 4697 0.60%
Pskov Oblast 2952 0.86% 39407 11.44% 23688 6.87% 258584 75.05% 5794 1.68% 2782 0.81% 2656 0.77% 5533 1.61%
Rostov Oblast 11741 0.56% 236287 11.37% 106905 5.14% 1641189 78.97% 23036 1.11% 14121 0.68% 13046 0.63% 13761 0.66%
Ryazan Oblast 4094 0.68% 76023 12.65% 37091 6.17% 458882 76.34% 7777 1.29% 3731 0.62% 3654 0.61% 4068 0.68%
Samara Oblast 10805 0.66% 189314 11.63% 98007 6.02% 1234759 75.82% 32392 1.99% 11543 0.71% 12324 0.76% 17892 1.10%
Saratov Oblast 7436 0.59% 148585 11.79% 66254 5.26% 987373 78.33% 15067 1.20% 8326 0.66% 7485 0.59% 9268 0.74%
Sakhalin Oblast 1586 0.69% 41201 17.99% 20075 8.76% 153289 66.92% 3874 1.69% 1496 0.65% 1654 0.72% 1938 0.85%
Sverdlovsk Oblast 15154 0.73% 241365 11.58% 141683 6.79% 1555532 74.60% 44258 2.12% 13317 0.64% 19428 0.93% 27144 1.30%
Smolensk Oblast 3894 0.82% 62351 13.17% 36894 7.79% 347859 73.49% 6724 1.42% 3519 0.74% 3304 0.70% 3426 0.72%
Tambov Oblast 3137 0.52% 55183 9.12% 31418 5.19% 494966 81.81% 5311 0.88% 3593 0.59% 2521 0.42% 3210 0.53%
Tver Oblast 4718 0.77% 77050 12.51% 43421 7.05% 459198 74.55% 10144 1.65% 4902 0.80% 4846 0.79% 5635 0.91%
Tomsk Oblast 2976 0.65% 70163 15.22% 31466 6.83% 328296 71.23% 10091 2.19% 2757 0.60% 3986 0.86% 5886 1.28%
Tula Oblast 5692 0.70% 77552 9.48% 48748 5.96% 648117 79.20% 11689 1.43% 5379 0.66% 5331 0.65% 7537 0.92%
Tyumen Oblast 4543 0.54% 69294 8.22% 64367 7.63% 672385 79.75% 11723 1.39% 4249 0.50% 4577 0.54% 4808 0.57%
Ulyanovsk Oblast 3972 0.62% 94809 14.74% 40028 6.22% 477654 74.27% 7146 1.11% 4752 0.74% 4197 0.65% 3567 0.55%
Chelyabinsk Oblast 13468 0.77% 227134 12.99% 121670 6.96% 1275822 73.00% 31326 1.79% 13243 0.76% 16181 0.93% 21573 1.23%
Yaroslavl Oblast 5329 0.81% 85256 12.96% 49621 7.54% 472666 71.84% 15607 2.37% 4377 0.67% 6710 1.02% 11738 1.78%
Moscow 43317 0.96% 563670 12.48% 211995 4.69% 3201257 70.88% 184206 4.08% 32664 0.72% 70323 1.56% 143039 3.17%
St. Petersburg 20450 0.88% 209112 9.04% 94569 4.09% 1735236 75.01% 100059 4.33% 15295 0.66% 36254 1.57% 73532 3.18%
Jewish Autonomous Oblast 501 0.65% 14066 18.12% 7387 9.52% 52374 67.48% 771 0.99% 404 0.52% 407 0.52% 369 0.48%
Autonomous Okrug of the Nenets 185 0.74% 3397 13.53% 2482 9.89% 17863 71.15% 448 1.78% 135 0.54% 172 0.69% 158 0.63%
Autonomous circle of the Khanty and Mansi / Ugra 3916 0.50% 94785 12.03% 53569 6.80% 600404 76.20% 10884 1.38% 4095 0.52% 4363 0.55% 5060 0.64%
Chukchi Autonomous Okrug 115 0.42% 1616 5.86% 2018 7.31% 22709 82.31% 358 1.30% 142 0.51% 180 0.65% 160 0.58%
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug 1052 0.31% 19488 5.72% 19409 5.70% 291409 85.54% 2394 0.70% 1794 0.53% 1154 0.34% 1367 0.40%
Baikonur (Kazakhstan) 32 0.33% 1026 10.62% 628 6.50% 7568 78.35% 130 1.35% 51 0.53% 50 0.52% 70 0.72%
Territory outside of the Russian Federation 2010 0.42% 23871 5.03% 8224 1.73% 403306 85.02% 19203 4.05% 1439 0.30% 3079 0.65% 7433 1.57%
total 479013 0.65% 8659206 11.77% 4154985 5.65% 56430712 76.69% 1238031 1.68% 499342 0.68% 556801 0.76% 769644 1.05%
Source: Central Electoral Commission

Reactions

On the evening of the election, Putin's campaign spokesman Andrei Kondrashov ironically thanked the British government: with her reaction to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal , she had helped gather voters at the center of power and mobilize them for Putin.

The German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas criticized the course of the election. Neither the result nor the circumstances of the vote were surprising. "Fair political competition as we know it can certainly not be discussed in all points," said Maas on March 19 at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. In addition, it is not acceptable that the election had taken place in the illegally annexed area of ​​Crimea. The German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, however, congratulated Putin in a letter. He hopes that Putin will use his new term in office to counteract the "alienation" between Russia and Germany.

Austria's Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl emphasized that it was the attitude of the federal government that the votes in the Crimea annexed by Russia should not count.

According to his own statements, US President Donald Trump congratulated Putin over the phone and announced to the press that he would meet with Putin.

Web links

Commons : Presidential Election in Russia 2018  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

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  21. ↑ Жириновский не исключил, что ЛДПР на выборах президента представит не он | Zhirivonsky does not rule out someone else representing LDPR in election .
  22. ↑ Жириновский пойдёт на выборы президента с четырьмя преемниками | Zhirinovsky will go into the election with successors .
  23. ↑ Владимир Жириновский снова собрался в президенты | Vladimir Zhirinovsky again going for presidency .
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  43. ↑ a b c Putin wins - that's already certain ( memento of the original from March 14, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Hannoversche Allgemeine , March 14, 2018. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.haz.de
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  45. ↑ Dmitri Gluchowski: Talk shows in Russia: Let them eat "Sch ..." . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , March 15, 2018.
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