"These elections are not about issues, they are about power." During the Russian parliamentary elections in December 1999 any number of people could claim this statement. This characterization–along with the perception that this election included the dirtiest campaigns to date–was agreed upon by Westerners and Russians, participants and observers, central and regional officials, and independent and party-affiliated candidates. These shared perceptions reveal a great deal about campaign outcomes, electoral politics, and consolidation of the Russian party system. Most importantly, the juxtaposition of issues and power reveals the collision between the main forces of Russian electoral politics: 1) political parties; and 2) independent economic groups headed by the infamous oligarchs. […]
Memo #:
106
Series:
1
PDF:
PDF URL:
http://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/assets/docs/ponars/pm_0106.pdf
