As of: March 13, 2024, 6:58 p.m
By: Sonja Thomaser
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Press
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Russian President Vladimir Putin seems untouchable, but there are also opposing candidates in the Russian election.
Who are the challengers?
Moscow – Since Vladimir Putin came to power in Russia, there have been no surprises in elections there.
Therefore, the outcome of the election of the President of the Russian Federation for the term from 2024 to 2030, as it says in full, can be predicted with considerable certainty: Putin will remain in office.
Don't be afraid of the Russia election: Russian President Vladimir Putin.
© IMAGO/Sergei Savostyanov
Despite the ongoing allegations of election manipulation, blackmail and attempted threats, the Russian population still officially has a choice from March 15 to 17, 2024.
Who are the three candidates who are running, or are allowed to run, against Putin in the Russia election?
Because six other candidates were rejected by the electoral commission - sometimes with flimsy reasons.
Vladislav Davankov – Putin’s “strongest” competitor in the Russian election
Vladislav Davankov is running for the “New People” party in the Russian election.
According to the
Moscow Times,
he is seen by some experts and the opposition as an alternative candidate for anti-war voters after Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova, who also advocated for peace, were excluded from the election.
Vladislav Davankov from the New People party.
© IMAGO/Aleksander V.CHERNYKH
Davankov has been deputy chairman of the State Duma since 2021.
During his presidential campaign, he advocated
“peace and negotiations” with Ukraine, according to
the Moscow Times .
He also wants to campaign for freedom of the press and the normalization of Russia's relations with Western countries and to stop the "persecution of dissenting opinions" and "ideological censorship".
He co-authored a law banning gender reassignment.
Because of his support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he is subject to international sanctions from the EU, the USA, Great Britain and several other countries.
Davankov is expected to finish second to Putin in the 2024 presidential election with 6 percent of the vote,
according to a poll by
VTsiom , a Kremlin-aligned Russian public opinion research organization.
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Nikolai Kharitonov is running in the Russian election for the second time
Nikolai Kharitonov from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) has been a member of the State Duma since 1993.
He ran for president in 2004 and secured second place with around 13 percent of the vote.
According to the
Moscow Times,
Kharitonov's campaign program calls for lowering the retirement age, increasing pension payments and increasing support for large families, relying on the older electorate that traditionally supports the Communist Party.
Nikolai Kharitonov (right) is running for the “Communist Party of the Russian Federation” (KPRF) against Putin.
© IMAGO/Artyom Geodakyan
He also proposes introducing a progressive tax system and ending membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international organizations, which he says "undermine Russia's economic sovereignty," reports the Moscow
Times
.
Kharitonov was also subject to sanctions from the USA, the EU and Great Britain after the start of the Ukraine war.
According to VTsiom,
his poll numbers are around 4 percent.
Leonid Slutsky: “Russian Harvey Weinstein”
The third candidate who will run against Putin is Leonid Slutsky.
He is the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), a right-wing extremist and nationalist party, and has been a member of the State Duma since 2000.
According to VTsiom,
it is around 3 percent
in the polls .
His campaign program includes tax breaks for low earners, freezing food prices and combating price inflation, as well as providing social housing.
Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR).
© IMAGO/Alexander Reka
Slutsky was already sanctioned by the West in 2014 for his support of the annexation of Crimea.
In 2018, he was accused of sexually harassing journalists and
was even referred to as the “Russian Harvey Weinstein” by some media outlets, according to the
Moscow Times .
The politician called the allegations “a provocation.”
That same year, an investigation published by late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny found that Slutsky owned luxury cars that cost far more than his official income.
Slutsky, who was a member of the Russian delegation to peace talks with Ukraine in spring 2022, is also known for his aggressive stance against the war.
He declared that “the main aim of my election program was final and rapid victory” in the war.
“I am confident that Russia will complete the noble and holy special military operation this year with the victory of Russian weapons,” he told the Kremlin-loyal state news agency
RIA Novosti in early March.
Putin will remain president even after the Russian election
Critics claim that the three opposing candidates are intended to give the Russia election a democratic appearance, without there being a real alternative to the incumbent President Putin.
He has been President of Russia since 2000, with a short interruption from 2008 to 2012.
In 2021, a historic constitutional reform was passed that will allow Putin to rule until 2036.
(see above)