ABSTRACT
Elections play a necessary part in the development of a democratic society, but they are not sufficient to denote the achievement of democracy, defined as popular control over the executive through effective representation in a legislature. Between 1989 and 2008 Russia saw fourteen competitive national elections and three national referendums. In that time the institutional framework for elections has changed considerably, with electoral legislation constantly changing, while there has been only limited continuity in the choice of parties facing the voter. However, certain behavioural patterns have emerged that are repeated from one electoral cycle to the next. At the same time, despite all the vicissitudes of electoralism, the legitimacy of the new political order is firmly rooted in the popular validation achieved through the ballot box. Russia’s electoral politics, however, are constrained and relatively isolated from power relations. In terms of succession, changes of government and even the presidency appear disconnected from the outcome of elections in anything other than formal terms. In terms of accountability, both at the federal and regional level, elections have been rather more free than fair, with the electoral process often distorted by asymmetries in financial, administrative and power resources.
