From Russia with Cleavages

On December 12th 1993 the Russians were about to elect their new national assembly: The State Duma. Nearly 106 million registered voters were allowed to participate in the election. This was the first election contested by several political parties since the early experiences in the beginning of the 20th century. This book examines the development of the party system and voting behaviour in post communist Russia from 1993-2003. The central question of this book is: what kind of electoral pattern emerged during this period? Using various opinion polls and statistical techniques this book analyses how demographical, geographical as well as attitudinal characteristics has shaped the behaviour of the Russian voters in the elections to the national parliament. The analysis provides an insight into how the political system developed during this time period. It is of interest for those studying Russian politics as well as anyone else who may be interested in finding out more about the transitional period in Russia after the fall of Soviet Union.