Four Candidates Contest the Presidency of Russia

From Friday until Sunday, millions of Russians will head to the polls to choose their next president among four candidates: Vladislav Davankov, Vladimir Putin, Leonid Slutski, and Nikolai Jaritonov. The winner will take office on May 7.

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Initially, the Central Electoral Commission received proposals for the registration of candidatures from 11 citizens, seven of whom were not approved due to a lack of signatures in their support.

For the first time, the presidential election will use an electronic remote voting system that will be available in 29 regions of the country. Below are the profiles of the candidates.

Vladislav Davankov

The New People Party nominated Vladislav Davankov as its presidential candidate. Founded in 2020, this right-wing party seeks to represent the interests of younger generations, promote small and medium-sized enterprises, and carry out social programs to improve incomes, generate employment, and ensure affordable housing.

Davankov studied history at Moscow State University and management at the Skolkovo School. He then obtained a Ph.D. in Sociology from the Russian State Social University.

In 2021, Davankov became a member of the Russian State Duma. At 39 years old, he will be the youngest presidential candidate in the elections.

He aims to make Russia a modern and prosperous country that respects its citizens and cooperates with the world. Part of his agenda is focused on optimizing the functioning of the state apparatus so as to reduce budget deficits.

Vladimir Putin

On January 29, Putin registered as an independent candidate since current law prohibits the sitting president from affiliating with a political party.

During his tenure as prime minister from 2008 to 2012, he was a member of the United Russia party, which supported his candidacy for another term. Currently, United Russia is the majority party in the State Duma, holding 343 out of 450 seats.

Putin graduated from the Faculty of Law at Leningrad State University. From 1975 to 1991, he served in the Soviet Union's State Security Committee (KGB), spending most of his time working in the German Democratic Republic.

He began his political career in St. Petersburg before moving to Moscow, where Putin held positions in the Russian Federal Security Service. His government proposal includes projects related to expanding the country's infrastructure and maintaining a demographic profile favorable to economic growth.

Leonid Slutski

Leonid Slutski is the current leader of the Russian Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), which has representation in the State Duma.

During the 1990s, he obtained bachelor's degrees in management and economics from Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics, and Informatics. In 1988, he joined the Communist Youth Union.

After working as an advisor to former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, Slutski was elected a member of the State Duma in 1999 and participated in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in 2022.

His government program is based on the requests and issues expressed by citizens with whom he has been conversing since the start of his campaign on December 30.

Nikolai Jaritonov

The Russian Communist Party designated Nikolai Jaritonov as its presidential candidate. This politician was born in the Novosibirsk region and graduated as an agronomist from the Novosibirsk Agricultural Institute, where he later obtained his Ph.D. in Economics.

He participated in the creation of the Russian Agrarian Party, managing to be elected a member of the State Duma in 1993. After the split of that party, Jaritonov joined the Communist Party. He also ran in the 2004 presidential elections, finishing in second place.

In his government program, Jaritonov proposes to nationalize minerals and raw materials, develop industry and agriculture, create programs for young families to buy homes, increase the minimum wage, and provide scholarships to students.