In the Russian Federation, electoral ballots are organized as a “celebration of democracy”. On March 18, 2018, the Russian Federation held presidential elections. Eight candidates met with the voters in front of the ballot boxes. Did they succeed or not to make a demonstration of the pluralism of the political opinion in Russia and how honest was the public debate? Have the necessary premises been provided for a fair and balanced fight between opponents? What were the candidates’ theses and projects presented properly? How did they define the future and how did they relate to the recent past? Identifying answers to these questions, which can easily be transformed into research assumptions, could offer those interested in policies promoted by Moscow some insights into the content of the future political decisions of the Kremlin. The objective of this study is to make a more analytical take-off in the content of electoral platforms, the strategies adopted by the candidates, and the platforms they were willing to assess the legitimacy of the “celebration” of democracy during an election in Russia in 2018.

This paper was realized by Dr. Angela Gramada within the project “Understanding the Eastern Neighborhood. A unique platform for comprehensive debates and analysis on Russian affairs” and it is part of the series of the follow-up events and analysis continuing the project implemented in 2017 by ESGA. Within this project, ESGA aims to engage the young generation of experts proactively in the efforts oriented on setting a new agenda for the dialogue with Russia and to encourage the participation in public debates.

Russian presidential elections PDF Version