Final Essay Russian Politics: Electoral
changes under Putin
Naam: Thomas Blok
Studentnummer:
Vak: Russian Politics
Docent: Dr. M.J. Frear
Datum: 22/03/2026
, Introduction
On March 26, 2000, for the first time in history, power in Russia was
transferred to another person, within an existing governmental
framework, through a seemingly democratic process. After already
succeeding Yeltsin following his resignation, Putin now became the second
elected president of the Russian Federation. Superficially, it could be
argued that Russia was on the way to becoming a mature democratic
country. When judging the state of a democracy, elections are indeed an
obvious phenomenon to consider. The mere existence of elections does
not, however, guarantee a free and fair democracy. What they do offer, is
an insight into the workings of a democracy. They are among the most
public displays of democracy and by taking a closer look at them, the
actual state of a democracy can at least partially be explained.
Putin’s first election was already met with scepticism at the time (McFaul
2000). Now, 26 years later, it has become clear that elections in Russia
have moved even further away from being free and fair. Managing the
opposition, constructing a less transparent electoral process and
tampering with ballots are examples of developments in Russia that are
indicative of exactly how undemocratic elections are. In this essay it will
be further discussed how Russia went from already imperfect elections to
an almost completely orchestrated endorsement of the regime (Harvey
2024, Hutcheson 2022).
To answer this question the first section of the essay will focus on the
state of elections during Putin’s first candidacy. In the second section,
electoral changes over time will be laid out, focussing on processes like
those mentioned in the previous paragraph: opposition, transparency and
fraud. The third section aims to explain why the regime may have decided
to structure elections as they have.
changes under Putin
Naam: Thomas Blok
Studentnummer:
Vak: Russian Politics
Docent: Dr. M.J. Frear
Datum: 22/03/2026
, Introduction
On March 26, 2000, for the first time in history, power in Russia was
transferred to another person, within an existing governmental
framework, through a seemingly democratic process. After already
succeeding Yeltsin following his resignation, Putin now became the second
elected president of the Russian Federation. Superficially, it could be
argued that Russia was on the way to becoming a mature democratic
country. When judging the state of a democracy, elections are indeed an
obvious phenomenon to consider. The mere existence of elections does
not, however, guarantee a free and fair democracy. What they do offer, is
an insight into the workings of a democracy. They are among the most
public displays of democracy and by taking a closer look at them, the
actual state of a democracy can at least partially be explained.
Putin’s first election was already met with scepticism at the time (McFaul
2000). Now, 26 years later, it has become clear that elections in Russia
have moved even further away from being free and fair. Managing the
opposition, constructing a less transparent electoral process and
tampering with ballots are examples of developments in Russia that are
indicative of exactly how undemocratic elections are. In this essay it will
be further discussed how Russia went from already imperfect elections to
an almost completely orchestrated endorsement of the regime (Harvey
2024, Hutcheson 2022).
To answer this question the first section of the essay will focus on the
state of elections during Putin’s first candidacy. In the second section,
electoral changes over time will be laid out, focussing on processes like
those mentioned in the previous paragraph: opposition, transparency and
fraud. The third section aims to explain why the regime may have decided
to structure elections as they have.
