Elections à la Russe
Formal Establishment of Rules and Informal Methods
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Elections take place in Russia. A presidential decree and the election law of 1994 created the basis for them. Numerous norms rules regulate the registration and financing of candidates, the election campaign and the holding of the vote itself. At the same time, there have emerged informal practises that get around the formal election rules and present effective mechanisms for influencing the outcome of a vote. These informal practises can increase political stability, but they could also lead to its collapse. The question whether elections can produce a handover of power in Russian remains open.
(Osteuropa 10/2005, pp. 85–98)