1996 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

AsBoris Yeltsinhad been elected president of theRussian Soviet Federative Socialist Republicon 12 June 1991, the 1996 presidential poll represented the first postindependence opportunity for the Russian people to select their executive. Following the difficult transition to a marketeconomy, Russia’s weakened international position, and the disastrous effects of the firstChechen War, Yeltsin entered the campaign with abysmally low popularity ratings. Conversely, the well-organizedCommunist Party of the RussianFederation’s (KPRF) candidateGennady Zyuganovenjoyed significant support, particularly among themilitary, former members of thesecurity services, and disaffected quarters of the population such as the elderly and rural poor. The radical nationalistVladimir Zhirinovskywas also popular in early polls.

Certain elements within Yeltsin’s inner circle urged the president to cancel the elections and govern the country as dictator. However, Yeltsin rejected this approach, opting instead to delegate power to his daughterTatyana Dyachenkoand the head of theprivatizationcampaign,Anatoly Chubais. By instituting theloans for shares program, Chubais was able to win over the support of a significant portion of the country’s entrepreneurs and managers, who benefited from the accelerated program of privatization of enterprises in the lead-up to the poll.

Through their control of themediaand flush with cash, Yeltsin’s key allies painted Zhirinovsky as a buffoon and Zyuganov as a bloodthirsty warmonger.Recognizing discontent with his policies, Yeltsin promised to end the war inChechnya, increase spending on social welfare, and abandon his most controversial economic reforms. In the provinces, Yeltsin bought off local administrators to win votes. Meanwhile, Dyachenko worked closely with three American political consultants (George Gorton, Dick Dresner, and Joe Shumate) to develop a Western-style campaign based on political advertising, replete with “truth squads,” focus groups, public relations appearances on television, and message framing. After refusing to engage in so-called black PR, Yeltsin, who suffered a heart attack in early June, ultimately consented to running a negative campaign against the Communists in the last months before the first round of the elections. Fearful that the KPRF would plunge the country back into a cold war with the West by trying to recapture thenear abroadand/or provoke a civil war by renationalizing the country’s industries and jailing its entrepreneurs, many voters shifted to Yeltsin at the last moment, despite their obvious displeasure with his first administration. In the first round of voting on 16 June 1996, which saw a turnout of more than two-thirds of the electorate, Yeltsin claimed a narrow plurality (35 percent) over Zyuganov (32 percent), thus forcing a runoff. Yeltsin moved quickly to consolidate his position by appointing the third-place finisher, the populist former generalAleksandr Lebed, to the position of national security advisor. With Lebed’s forces in tow and the support of liberals who had previously voted forGrigory Yavlinsky, Yeltsin won a majority (53.8 percent) of the vote in the 3 July runoff election, though Zyuganov won a commanding share of the vote in Russia’s agroindustrialRed Belt.