Not long ago, the Central Election Commission approved the date for the elections in 2018 - they will take place on March 18. Initially, it was planned that the most important event nationwide would be held on March 11, but due to the fact that, due to the March 8 holiday, many Russians would probably simply be absent from the cities, it was decided to postpone the voting to the 18th.

A little later, the Federation Council determined the dates on which future candidates for the presidency of Russia will have to finally declare their participation, as well as present to the public their main provisions with which they will go to the elections. Thus, the question of when the election campaign will begin can be considered closed. According to the decision of the Federation Council, candidates will have to publish their election campaign, as well as official confirmation of participation in the elections, between December 7 and 17. This is due to the fact that the election campaign must begin no earlier than 100 days, but no later than 90 days before the actual voting.

Main candidates for the presidency of the Russian Federation

By mid-December, the full list of candidates who had declared their intention to run for president consisted of 18 people. But, despite such an impressive number of applicants, it should be expected that about five people will take part in the elections themselves. Firstly, the bulk of those aspiring to the presidency will be eliminated before December 17, the day when they will need to officially confirm their intention to participate in the presidential race. Secondly, many do not even have the necessary finances to conduct a full-scale campaign and do not know how much it costs and when the election campaign will begin. Thirdly, some of the applicants cannot officially become candidates due to their criminal convictions or age.

From the list of candidates, only a few of them deserve closer attention: Ksenia Sobchak, Grigory Yavlinsky, Vladimir Zhirinovsky. The listed candidates, for the most part, already have impressive experience in political governance, and also outlined the main provisions of the election campaign, which can be found below.

Ksenia Sobchak's election campaign: when it starts, main provisions

Ksenia Sobchak announced her intention to take part in the elections on October 18. The original slogan of the ex-host of the odious show “Dom-2” was the wording “Candidate against everyone.” Ksenia Anatolyevna explained this position by the fact that she intends to act as a kind of “against everyone” column, which was removed from the election ballot. But over time, the journalist’s plans changed and she began staffing her headquarters, and also voiced the main positions of her election campaign, with which she intends to run for the presidency. Curiosities began from the very beginning. Just a couple of days after the journalist announced the composition of the election headquarters, all these people almost completely left Ksenia. The reason was a simple lack of money, as one of the participants later admitted. But this did not dampen the ardor of the ex-host of “House-2” and already on October 24 she announced when the election campaign would begin and what points the journalist intended to rely on to attract the electorate.

The very first point in Ksenia’s election campaign was a categorical rejection of Crimea. The journalist categorically stated that the peninsula should belong to Ukraine, and if she wins the presidential race, Ksenia’s first decree will return Crimea to Kyiv. These words not only did not meet with support among the Russians and the inhabitants of the peninsula themselves, who were happy to join Russia, but also became the reason for initiating a criminal case against Sobchak. However, later the prosecutor’s office stated that it did not see the candidate’s words as a threat to the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, and the case was closed. However, she definitely lost on this point of the election campaign: there is no need to expect support for such a thesis among Russians.

Several other positions of Sobchak’s election campaign include the demand for the release of political prisoners and the restoration of relations with Ukraine. But just a few minutes after her first press conference as a presidential candidate, Ksenia admitted that she simply does not have an election campaign, a ready-made program with which she must win the attention of the electorate. “I don’t have a campaign. There are feelings of truth and your own vision of the situation. All politicians will tell you the most beautiful words. They have an election campaign. But this is just endless verbiage. “I’m just a line on the ballot,” the journalist noted. She could not even say how she intended to solve problems and conflicts in the post-Soviet space, citing the fact that such a space simply does not exist.

Grigory Yavlinsky's election campaign: when it starts, main provisions

If Ksenia Sobchak acts as a kind of parody of a full-fledged presidential candidate and even admits to the absence of her own election campaign and program, then the “political elder” Grigory Yavlinsky, who heads the Yabloko party, takes a much more serious approach. Despite the fact that, according to the decision of the Federation Council, which determined when the election campaign would begin, the dates were set from December 7 to 17, Yavlinsky has had an official portal since the day he announced his nomination. The website contains information about when the election campaign will begin and what main points will be included in the campaign program of the politician, who has already applied for the presidency several times.

As highlights of his election campaign, Yavlinsky lists the repeal of several laws, such as the law on non-profit organizations and the law banning the adoption of children from Russia by foreign citizens. Also in the election campaign, Grigory Yavlinsky intends to rely on the release of political prisoners and the abandonment of tense relations with Europe, and the restoration of a friendly alliance with Ukraine. The candidate also includes among the priority tasks the withdrawal of a group of Russian troops from Syrian territory. But the fact is that on December 11, during a visit to Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the withdrawal of the Russian Aerospace Forces from the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic due to the fact that the military personnel completed the mission assigned to them and actually got rid of terrorism in the Syrian Arab Republic.

In addition, in his election campaign, Yavlinsky intends to invite Russians to firmly declare Russia's commitment to the policy of peace and non-interference in the affairs of other countries, after which they will establish friendship with Europe and the United States. The problem at this point in the election campaign is that the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the head of state Vladimir Putin, have repeatedly stated Moscow’s readiness to normalize relations. Unfriendly steps have recently been observed from Washington. Take, for example, a series of scandals with the Russian embassy in San Francisco and other cities in the United States. Even Europe, which has been dancing to the American tune for several years, is already beginning to talk about the desire to restore partnerships and ties with Russia.

In general, when assessing Yavlinsky’s election campaign, it should be recognized that the candidate was in a hurry to draw up a program and many points are either outdated and no longer relevant, or cause outright bewilderment: how can the leader of the Yabloko party, with such positions, intend to leave Russia behind in the international political arena.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky's election campaign: when it starts, main provisions

The LDPR party controlled by him announced the nomination of Vladimir Zhirinovsky for the presidential election on November 21. The party members made the decision unanimously, as reported by Vice Speaker Igor Lebedev.

So far, nothing has been said about Zhirinovsky’s election campaign itself: the candidate is just about to start it. But the official portal of the party he heads contains the main provisions with which the faction addresses the Russians:

• Stop fattening. The LDPR proposes to set the maximum salary at 200 thousand rubles, and limit the minimum salary to 20 thousand.
• Stop rising prices. In accordance with the proposal of the LDPR election campaign, it is proposed to introduce a trade markup not exceeding 20% ​​on wholesale and purchase prices.
• No unemployment.
• Organize tax holidays for a period of two years for all beginning entrepreneurs in the field of production and science.
• Freeze debts for two years and write off at least half for farmers and all agricultural workers.
• Allocate more funds from the federal budget to support regional budgets.
• Give priority in development to agriculture, the light food industry, and the production of household appliances.
• Redirect the orientation of the digital economy towards the production of machine tools, aircraft and cars.
• Ensure the country's drug safety.
• Extend sanctions for another five years to develop domestic agriculture and industrial production.

In general, Zhirinovsky's election campaign contains 37 points. Each of them is as categorical and not thought out in economic terms as those listed above.

Putin's election campaign: when it starts, main provisions

Current Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his intention to run for the country's top leadership post on December 6 during a meeting with employees of the GAZ plant in Nizhny Novgorod. A little later, on December 14, the traditional annual press conference with Putin took place. During a conversation with journalists, the head of state said that he would not say when his election campaign as a candidate would begin, and also did not disclose the main provisions on which he would rely when nominating.

As during previous elections, the main points of Putin’s election campaign may be a focus on pensions, social policy, strengthening Russia’s position in the international political arena, issues of medicine and education.

The election campaign officially starts on December 18. Until this time, candidates who have declared their intention to take part in the election race must present the main provisions of their programs, after which the struggle for the electorate will begin.

MOSCOW, December 15 – RIA Novosti. On Friday, the Federation Council of the Russian Federation at a meeting appointed the presidential elections of the Russian Federation for March 18, 2018. This marked the date for the official start of the election campaign: formally, it begins immediately after the official publication in Rossiyskaya Gazeta of the resolution calling for the election of the head of state by the Federation Council. The resolution is expected to be published on Monday, December 18.

Start of the campaign

The decision to call elections by the Federation Council was made unanimously. The duty to call elections for the President of the Russian Federation is assigned to the upper house of parliament by the Constitution.

According to the law, five days are given for the publication of the resolution on the start of the election campaign in Rossiyskaya Gazeta. It is expected that the resolution of the Federation Council on calling the presidential elections of the Russian Federation will be published on December 18,

“We will prepare the resolution over the weekend and thus it will be published on Monday, December 18,” said Andrei Klishas, ​​head of the constitutional committee of the upper house of parliament.

From the moment the election campaign officially starts, presidential candidates have the opportunity to register and begin campaigning.

Future candidates

According to the head of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, 23 people have already expressed a desire to participate in the Russian presidential elections in 2018, but the list is still open.

“The list is open, but 23 people have already expressed a desire to participate in the elections,” Pamfilova said, speaking at a plenary meeting of the Federation Council on Friday.

Current Russian President Vladimir Putin, journalist and TV presenter Ksenia Sobchak, political scientist Andrei Bogdanov and one of the founders of the Nashi movement Boris Yakemenko have already announced their intention to run in the upcoming elections. Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov said that he, as the leader of the Communist Party, was nominated as a presidential candidate by all party organizations, but the final decision will be made by the congress. The LDPR will nominate its presidential candidate at the congress on December 20. As expected, it will be Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

Journalist Ekaterina Gordon, head of the association of entrepreneurs for the development of business patriotism "Avanti" Rakhman Yansukov, leader of the Women's Dialogue party Elena Semerikova, and entrepreneur Sergei Polonsky also intend to put forward their candidacies. Chairman of the National Parental Committee Irina Volynets and leader of the Revival movement Alexander Chukhlebov, director of the Institute of Political Sociology Vyacheslav Smirnov and expert in the field of social psychology Mikhail Kozlov also announced their presidential ambitions.

Pamfilova expressed hope that the elections, despite some pessimistic forecasts, will be competitive, interesting, with “positive surprises.”

No favors

Pamfilova stated that the Russian Central Election Commission will conduct all election procedures equally carefully in relation to all candidates, including the current President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, there will be no concessions

“No, everything is within the framework of the law. We will carefully check signatures and all other procedures in the same way,” she told reporters in response to a question about whether the Central Election Commission will make concessions in relation to the current president.

According to her, the Central Election Commission will create the most equal conditions for all candidates.

The electoral system is ready

The head of the Central Election Commission noted that the Russian electoral system, which includes 880 thousand people - members of election commissions at various levels, is completely ready for elections.

“The electoral system of Russia, which includes almost a million - 880 thousand of our citizens - is completely ready, we are engaged in serious training in order to conduct a campaign so that none of us is ashamed, so that we are proud of this campaign,” Pamfilova said in Federation Council after adopting a resolution calling presidential elections.

She noted that over the six years since the previous presidential elections in Russia, the election legislation relating to the election of the head of state has been maximally liberalized, a number of barriers have been removed, and the capabilities of observers have been expanded.

Pamfilova said that on December 18, immediately on the day of the official publication of the decision to call the presidential elections in Russia, the Central Election Commission will approve the plan for the upcoming election campaign. According to her, from that same day the Central Election Commission will begin to receive money from the budget for organizing and holding presidential elections on March 18.

Starting next week, the information and reference center of the Russian Central Election Commission will begin its work.

“Also, for the first time in the CEC’s practice, a large-scale information and reference center will be organized, where, starting next week, using a toll-free federal number, by the way, its latest numbers 2018 are significant, any Russian citizen, voter can contact with any election-related question,” she said Pamfilov in the Federation Council after the adoption of a resolution calling presidential elections for March 18, 2018.

Vote where it's convenient for you

In the Russian presidential elections on March 18, a new mechanism for citizens voting at their actual location will be used, which replaced absentee ballots.

The head of the Central Election Commission said that voters will be able to submit applications to vote on the day of the presidential elections in Russia on March 18 at the polling station where it is convenient for them, to the territorial election commission from January 31, and to the precinct station from February 25.

“Now any voter, no matter where he is, can attach himself to any polling station. To do this, he just needs to, starting from January 31, 2018, submit an application to any territorial election commission, from February 25 - to any precinct commission, and choose the polling station where he will be comfortable voting,” she said.

Pamfilova explained that when a voter submits such an application, he will be transferred from the list of voters at the precinct to which he is attached to the list at the precinct where he wants to vote; this procedure will take place through the State Automated System "Elections".

In turn, Deputy Head of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation Nikolai Bulaev told RIA Novosti that from 3 to 10 million voters will be able to use the new voting mechanism at the place of actual location, which replaced absentee ballots, during the presidential elections in Russia.

Participation of observers

As Valentina Matvienko, speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament, said, the Federation Council will invite observers from foreign states and international structures to the Russian presidential elections on March 18.

“The Federation Council has the right under the law to invite foreign observers, we will definitely use this right. We will discuss and make a decision on inviting observers from a number of foreign states and international parliamentary structures. The more observers there are, the more objective assessment will be given to the presidential campaign,” she said Matvienko to journalists.

“I am sure that, since there is very great interest in the presidential elections, the number of observers will be a record one, this is my forecast,” she added.

In turn, the head of the Central Election Commission recalled that invitations to international organizations are sent mainly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Federal Assembly. For example, both the State Duma and the Federation Council can invite delegations from various parliamentary assemblies, but an invitation from the OSCE is a matter for the Foreign Ministry, she clarified.

“We send only to our partner colleagues. The campaign has been announced, we are conducting preliminary work with the OSCE, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will send official invitations,” Pamfilova said.

Answering a question from journalists about whether American diplomats would be allowed into polling stations during the presidential elections, she explained that this would be decided by the Foreign Ministry.

“This is not our prerogative, this is decided by the Foreign Ministry... This is through the interaction of diplomats,” Pamfilova said.

If we talk in general about the possibility of participation of US representatives in monitoring the upcoming elections, they can be included in the OSCE mission, the head of the Central Election Commission noted.

“On our side, there is such a mechanism - what concerns OSCE observers. In principle, we are as open as possible. There is a procedure for the formation of observation missions, certain quotas, the ratio from different OSCE member countries. There was no prohibition there, including ours observers through the OSCE mission to observe elections in those countries where this is provided,” Pamfilova added.

The election campaign should officially start in the next ten days. Formally, the 2018 presidential elections begin with a meeting of the Federation Council, which will give a legal start to the presidential race. The government body plans to announce the start of pre-election activities at a meeting specially dedicated to this issue on December 15.

According to Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko, the upper house of parliament will officially announce the start of the election campaign in a resolution that will be issued during from the eighth to the fifteenth of the current month. The law prescribes that the start of the election campaign must be announced by the Parliament of the Russian Federation within a period not exceeding one hundred and not exceeding ninety days before the established election date; in the case of the 2018 elections, the time is allocated from December 7 to 18.

After the resolution on the elections is adopted by the Federation Council, it must be published within a period not exceeding 5 days. That is, by the 22nd of this month the start of the election race must be publicly announced. After the announcement, there is a formal opportunity for parties to hold congresses dedicated to the nomination of candidates for 2018, and self-nominated candidates can gather electoral groups and documents to submit to the CEC.

The Federation Council resolution will be published on paper in the Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Parlamentskaya Gazeta publications. Also, the document, for the preparation of which two parliamentary commissions are responsible (according to TASS), will be available on the resource pravo.gov.ru.

Subsequent stages of the campaign:

Until January 11, self-nominated candidates form groups of voters supporting them, including five hundred people, and submit documents to the CEC.

From January 6 to January 15, the CEC registers candidates' applications. After registration (formally - from January 6), candidates and their headquarters have the opportunity to conduct election campaigns.

During the period from December 27, 2017 to December 31, 2018, self-nominees and non-parliamentary parties collect signatures of voters in support of candidates and submit them along with the necessary documentation for registration with the CEC.

From January 31 to February 10, 2018 - the CEC has an obligation to register candidates whose documents are in order, or to give reasoned refusal to those whose documents were submitted with violations, have missing signatures or were collected with errors.

From February 17 to March 17, 2018 - a campaign campaign in the media with the provision of free airtime with equal access to all candidates (the current President of the Russian Federation must be controlled).

At the end of February (20 days before election day) - collecting votes from employees of long-distance sea expeditions, stations in the Arctic, etc.

From 8:00 (taking into account local time for each region) to 20:00 03/18/2018 - the day of the presidential elections of the Russian Federation. Voting takes place in more than ninety-six thousand polling stations across the country.

After 20:00, election commissions at polling stations count votes, then the results are consolidated in regional and central election commissions.

The changes imply simplification of the possibility of voting at a location other than the place of primary registration for citizens, as well as increased control over the integrity of the event, ensured by the availability of publicly available video surveillance in election commissions of precincts and territorial significance.

The election campaign has ended and the Day of Silence has begun. Political scientists are summing up how the candidates conducted this race and what kind of electorate they were fighting for. Among other things, experts came to a paradoxical conclusion about who was the main competitor of the main candidate.

The 2018 election campaign was remembered primarily for “the obvious attention of the authorities and the system of election commissions to turnout - so that the maximum number of voters took part in the elections,” noted Dmitry Orlov, general director of the Agency for Political and Economic Communications (APEC), in an interview with the newspaper VZGLYAD.

“As a result of the campaign, the trend of declining interest in elections, which was demonstrated, for example, by the parliamentary campaign of 2016, will still be reversed,” the expert hopes.

This time the mobilization of turnout took place through indirect means, says Dmitry Abzalov, president of the Center for Strategic Communications.

“The turnout in the parliamentary elections was 47%; the President of Russia cannot be elected with such figures. And against the backdrop of low turnout at municipal elections in Moscow, there was talk of the need to mobilize the population to go to the polling stations. Some predetermination demotivates individual citizens. There is an effect of the mayoral elections in Moscow, when a significant part of the main candidate’s supporters did not come to the elections, thinking that he would win without them,” the political scientist warned.

As the VZGLYAD newspaper wrote on Monday, the turnout in the Russian presidential elections on March 18 could be 64%, as follows from materials provided by FoRGO. According to experts, the highest turnout is expected in Tatarstan - 82%. The last three places on the list are occupied by Dagestan (51%), Arkhangelsk region and St. Petersburg (52% each), and Kursk region (53%). Experts predict turnout in Moscow to be 65%.

The most problematic for the current president was the youth electorate, Abzalov believes, hence his participation in youth programs: the World Youth Festival, the “Russia - Land of Opportunities” project, “Leaders of Russia”, and a visit to the Sirius camp. “The President is trying to find channels of communication with the youth segment. Unlike Sobchak or Grudinin, Putin cannot be the president of a separate audience,” Abzalov is sure.

Another feature of the campaign was the fight for new media. The main opportunities for candidates to increase their ratings were associated with people who do not go to the polls - young citizens. “The most effective tools are working with an online audience. This year the struggle in social networks and video hosting sites is unique in itself. The candidates and their teams had to master this segment quickly, right off the bat,” Abzalov said. For example, the communists for the first time relied on social networks, including Odnoklassniki.

“The main candidate Vladimir Putin’s emphasis on communication with the youth electorate and various active groups is obvious,” Orlov echoes him. In his opinion, support for the head of state will be at the level or even slightly higher than in 2012. Moreover, “in the structure of Putin’s public support there will be more young people and more active voters who move around the country and do not sit in one place. That is, Putin’s majority will once again reboot at the expense of youth and activist groups,” Orlov believes.

“The question of choice, rather, sounded like this for the voter: “Do you agree that Vladimir Putin will continue to serve as president of the Russian Federation?” - Markov told the newspaper VZGLYAD. He called all the other candidates peripheral - each of them “de facto fought not for the presidential post, but rather for future seats in parliament from their party.”

“This applies to the communists, LDPR and Sobchak. Titov rather fought for his team’s positions in the government. This is a team of economic growth and active industrial policy,” he noted.

According to Markov, another feature of this campaign was the harsher pressure from the West than before.

“If Putin had no competitors before, now he has appeared. This is NATO led by the United States. They did not hide their desire to disrupt these elections. But they can't do it. One of the main parts of the plan to disrupt the elections was the organization of mass unrest,” Markov is sure, adding that after the disaster in Ukraine, however, the protest movements lost legitimacy in the eyes of the majority of Russians.

It is important to note that “the campaign took place and is taking place under conditions of a rigid foreign policy framework, pressure from the West,” Orlov also agrees, explaining that the population feels this pressure on themselves.

Many Western agents of influence, including the “Voice” movement, tried to interfere in the election, Oleg Matveychev, a professor at the Higher School of Economics, told the newspaper VZGLYAD. Moreover, according to him. A large tour of the “Voice” leadership in Western Europe has already been scheduled, which ends in Washington, where they will talk about election violations in Russia. “The elections have not yet taken place, but the tour is scheduled, tickets have been purchased, conference days have been announced,” he was indignant.

Let us recall that on Friday NTV published a recording of a conversation in which the informal leader of “Voice” Liliya Shibanova and the head of one of the Western semi-official NGOs discuss how to act on March 18 and after the announcement of the voting results. According to the TV channel, provocations from foreign-funded NGOs should be expected in Russia.

In this campaign, the number of “all kinds of publics financed from abroad has increased: this is Khodorkovsky’s MBH Media, all kinds of Eshkin Krot and others,” added Matveychev. According to him, the tape is “polluted” with all kinds of fakes, including about future falsifications. “Huge money is being thrown into the Internet,” the expert emphasized.

There is also Ukrainian traffic: “According to my data, about 20 thousand people in Ukraine work as bots who maintain fake accounts where they pretend to be Russian citizens, telling how hard it is for them to live, how terrible everything is, how they shouldn’t go vote, and so on.” ,” Matveychev summarized.

As has been repeatedly noted, the main task of the organizers of the upcoming presidential elections was the desire to make the process as open as possible. This year, video cameras are installed not only in voting premises, but also in many territorial election commissions (more than 2,700). The entry of these protocols into the State Automated System “Elections” system can be monitored via the Internet.

Public surveillance capabilities were expanded to an unprecedented extent. Not only candidates and the political parties that nominated them, but also public chambers at all levels received the right to send observers. This increases the number of observers tenfold. At the same time, the CEC made efforts to attract foreign observers. If at the elections in 2012 there were about 700, then this time there are about 1,500.

The technological component of the electoral process is constantly being modernized. The time for summarizing results is reduced and errors in calculation are eliminated. Six years ago the number of sets of technical means for counting votes was about 5,500, and now it is twice as much - almost 13 thousand. At most polling stations (more than 93%), protocols on voting results will be provided with machine-readable code. The QR coding system allows you to avoid errors when drawing up the protocol and does not allow you to rewrite it.

Another innovation was the inclusion of voters in the lists at their location - the “Mobile Voter” project, which replaced the absentee ballot system. More than 5.6 million people used the service.

As Ella Pamfilova, Chairman of the Central Election Commission, said the other day, no one has the right to influence the free expression of will. “I promise you, we won’t offend anyone. All those who spit on the law, regardless of position, right up to the governors, we will promptly transfer all materials to the Prosecutor General’s Office,” Pamfilova indicated.

The 2018 Russian presidential elections will take place on March 18. The date on which the head of state will be elected to a six-year term. If a second round is required, it will be held in three weeks, that is, on April 8, 2018. And the election campaign of candidates for the presidency of the Russian Federation starts in December.

Contenders

Judging by the latest Levada Center poll, 64% of Russians want Putin to be re-elected president of Russia, and 22% want another candidate to win.

Today, all experts agree that the current head of state, Vladimir Putin, will win – if, of course, he runs. And yet, is intrigue possible next spring? And what will it consist of? In voter turnout, in the percentage of votes cast “for Putin”, in the actions of the opposition? There are many options here and each one is of interest.

Let's consider all the candidates in detail.

Vladimir Putin

With all the wealth of choice, there is no other alternative. This is stated in a study by the Civil Society Development Fund (CSD). Putin's rating is consistently high. 39% of the people surveyed by FORGO experts do not know who will vote if Putin is not on the list of candidates, 17 percent will not vote in this case, and 12% intend to spoil the ballot. The current head of the country enjoys the greatest 65 percent support among young people aged 18-23. This is not surprising, because young people are simply accustomed to seeing Putin as the head of the Russian state. The forecasts of political experts and the predictions of analysts and astrologers regarding the 2018 elections also agree that Putin will become the future president of Russia. Now Vladimir Vladimirovich wants to focus on work and, according to the latest data, will announce his participation in the elections in November. Only by December will his legal nomination begin with the collection of signatures.

On November 13, a message appeared in the media from an anonymous federal official with the following content: “So far, Putin has not made public statements about his readiness to run for the presidency of Russia, but has decided that he will “participate”.” Of Putin's qualities, voters especially like: Intelligence; authority; literacy; experience; authority; leadership; competence. In other age groups, from 56% of respondents (in the 45-59 year old group) to 64% (in the 24-34 year old age group) are ready to vote for Putin.

Alexey Navalny

Human rights activist, founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation. Born on June 4, 1976 in the Moscow region. He took part in the elections for the mayor of Moscow in 2013 and took second place, losing to the current mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

The level of support for Navalny grew after his films “He’s Not Dimon”, “The Seagull”, as well as the results of the work of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which discovered phenomenal volumes of theft among officials.

Sergei Mironov

It is not yet known exactly who will become the presidential candidate from the A Just Russia party - the final decision will be made only on December 25, 2017 at the party congress. Presumably, the chairman, Sergei Mironov, may become a candidate, although he is not particularly successful in the political field. Sergei took part in presidential elections twice and twice took the honorable last place in the rankings. Sergei advocates decent wages, restoration of educational traditions, optional Unified State Examination and the abolition of fees for major repairs.

Grigory Yavlinsky

After a long break, Gregory wants to take part in the presidential race again - the last time he took part in it was in 2000, when he took third place. Grigory was inspired by the results of municipal elections in Moscow, where Yabloko was in the lead in some areas. So far, Grigory promises a change in the country’s foreign policy, reform of the regional financing system and the introduction of direct elections of mayors and members of the Federation Council.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky

The most odious of Russian political figures is going to stand as a candidate for the next (sixth) time. This time, his mind was clearly captured by Donald Trump and his migration policy - therefore, having won, Zhirinovsky promises to do the same in the Russian Federation. Well, as usual, he proposes the nationalization of large industry, a state monopoly on tobacco and alcohol products and support for small and medium-sized businesses.

Boris Titov

Boris Titov intends to participate in the upcoming presidential elections in the Russian Federation. His candidacy will be nominated by the Party of Growth.

The party's political council has already made this decision. The meeting took place on November 25 in Abrau-Durso. There is a champagne factory there, owned by Titov.

Shortly before this, Titov himself announced that the party would consider a number of options regarding the elections. One of them was the support that the “Growth Party” would provide to Vladimir Putin. At the same time, the possibility was not excluded that this political force would nominate its own participant in the primaries.

During the internal party debate, several candidates were put forward, but none of them could receive support similar to that provided to Titov.

Titov has already stated in his policy article that his main task is to promote the “Growth Strategy”. This is an economic project prepared by the Stolypin Club. It was submitted to Vladimir Putin for consideration in May.

The new candidate decided to go to the presidential elections with him. He believes that if successful, he will be able to achieve its rapid implementation.

Dmitry Peskov, answering the question whether Titov had agreed on his presidential ambitions with the Kremlin, said the following: “The new candidate notified the administration of his intentions.” Putin's press secretary did not say whether there was a response signal.

Ekaterina Gordon

The Russian journalist and public figure announced her desire to compete with the other applicants. She considers the protection of the rights of women and children to be the basis of her program, knowing in practice how the judicial system works. Ekaterina in her video message emphasizes that she is the only candidate who has not been approved by the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation.

Alina Vitukhnovskaya

The “black icon of Russian literature” intends to run for president starting this spring. If she wins, she promises to work on creating a professional army, allowing everyone to bear arms, and also rid Russia of the role of “international gendarme” (whatever that means).

Sergei Polonsky

The owner of his own island in Cambodia and a failed cosmonaut also intends to stand as a candidate for the post of head of the Russian state in 2018. What adds piquancy to the situation is that in the past Polonsky was found guilty in a case of fraud on an especially large scale.

Maxim Suraikin

The chairman of the Communists of Russia party comes out with a traditional communist program - the nationalization of extractive industries and large enterprises, increased spending on the social sphere and the introduction of the death penalty.

Andrey Bazhutin

The Chairman of the Association of Carriers of Russia, the organizer and coordinator of the “March to Moscow” of truckers calls on Siberian truckers and sympathizers to vote for him in the upcoming presidential elections. He is primarily interested in “problems of education, healthcare, housing and communal services.”

Anton Bakov

The billionaire and head of the “Monarchical Party of Russia” will represent this very party in the presidential elections in 2018 (since Natalya Poklonskaya refused this honor). His election program is simple: restore the monarchy in Russia and create a “monarchical international.” Interestingly, Anton previously planned to revive the Romanov empire in the pleasant conditions of the Kiribati islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Elvira Agurbash

The vice-president of Mortadel, known for sharp speeches during the discussion of the new version of the trade law, as well as trade wars with Dixie, decided to nominate her candidacy for the post of President of Russia, which she wrote about on Facebook. The candidate's target audience is representatives of small and medium-sized businesses.

Irina Volynets

Irina, the leader of the National Parents Committee organization, is going to dilute the “chronic shortage” of bright and charismatic presidential candidates. So far, Irina’s list of victories includes second place in the ranking in the elections of State Duma deputies in the Perm Territory. The candidate devotes great influence to the social sphere - increasing the minimum wage, maternity capital and supporting large families.

Boris Yakemenko

In mid-October 2017, Boris, one of the leaders of the Nashi movement and the creator of Walking Together, published his election theses. The main idea of ​​the theses is “working with people”, the transition to “democratic justice” and “a fair world order”, as well as “non-subordination to globalized Atlanticism”. So that readers do not have to rummage through dictionaries in search of this term, we will explain that Atlanticism refers to the comprehensive cooperation of the United States, Canada and Western European countries. Atlanticism is most fully reflected today in the activities of NATO. Boris estimates his chances of winning highly, otherwise he would not have run for office. In general, he is interested in how many votes an ordinary person can get.

Andrey Bogdanov

Master of the Grand Lodge of Russia, representative of the association of ten non-parliamentary parties, the Third Force bloc and presidential candidate from the Democratic Party of Russia. Andrey was given energy by the victory with a high rating of more than two hundred candidates, whom he, according to him, advised, in the municipal elections in Moscow.

Vladimir Mikhailov

The Honored Inventor of Russia and deputy of the Kostroma Regional Duma is going to represent “a poor and dying Russia” in the 2018 presidential elections. At the forefront of his election program, he places primarily the protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens, social protection and a strong army.

Ksenia Sobchak

In mid-October, Ksenia announced that she also wanted to take part in the presidential race. According to her, what prompted her to make this decision was the disappearance of the popular “against all” column from the ballot papers. Ksenia invites everyone who is tired of the current election situation to protest by voting for her. At the same time, the candidate has neither a team nor a clear election program, but with such a position this is not required. In addition, according to Levada Center polls, Sobchak leads the rating of distrust of politicians, which was previously headed by Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev. The popularity of her person and her unusual approach in the form of an association with the “against everyone” column can play a cruel joke, as happened in the last US presidential elections.

Gennady Zyuganov

The head of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, who consistently ranks second in presidential elections year after year, still does not lose hope of becoming number one in the state. At the beginning of the year, he announced his desire to be a candidate from “all state-patriotic forces,” but representatives of these same national-patriotic forces reported that a necessary condition for their support is the presence of another presidential candidate. Perhaps this means that Zyuganov will cease to be the permanent candidate of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. The program of the “father of Russian communism” is traditional and does not change from year to year: nationalization of natural resources, dispossession of oligarchs, revision of the results of privatization and abolition of VAT. But his electorate has decreased in recent years.

Putin will take part in the presidential elections

On December 6, 2017, all leading news agencies reported the news that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin had finally announced his participation in the 2018 elections.

Initially, everything once again looked like a “statement of intent.” During the “Russian Volunteer” award ceremony in Nizhny Novgorod, the current head of state asked the assembled volunteers whether they would support him if he ran for President of Russia in 2018. Having received an affirmative response from the audience, Vladimir Putin promised to make a decision to go to the 2018 elections in the near future.

Already in the evening of the same day, speaking to workers at the GAZ plant, the leader of the country informed the public that Vladimir Putin will be in the 2018 elections!

The place for this kind of statement was not chosen by chance - after all, it is the workers, according to the politician, who are making the main

It must be admitted that the day when Vladimir Putin announced his participation in the presidential race and nominated his candidacy was perhaps the most anticipated in the Russian establishment. Politicians, pensioners, state employees, security officials, and housewives were waiting for him.

Even the country’s main non-systemic opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, openly stated that the question of whether the current head of state will go to the polls has long been unequivocally decided on the sidelines of power.

It was clear to everyone - 2018, Vladimir Putin will definitely serve a new term!

"A Just Russia" will support Putin in the presidential elections

The party decided not to nominate its candidate for the highest government post

The A Just Russia party will not nominate its candidate for the presidential elections of the Russian Federation, which are to be held in our country on March 18, 2018. The political organization is expected to support the current head of state, Vladimir Putin, in the upcoming elections.

So, on Sunday, December 24, the presidium of the central council of A Just Russia recommended that the congress, which will take place on January 25 in Moscow, support the candidacy of the current president.

At the same time, the leader of the Just Russia party, Sergei Mironov, noted that representatives of his party will be included in the initiative group for Putin’s nomination and his election headquarters, TASS reports.

Let us recall that on December 6, Vladimir Putin announced his intention to take part in the 2018 presidential elections. And a little later it became known that the current head of state would run in the elections as a self-nominated candidate.