Candidates in the 2008 Russian presidential election

This article contains the list of candidates associated with the 2008 Russian presidential election.

2008 Russian presidential candidates

Opinion polls

An election ballot listing the presidential candidates

Registered candidates

Candidates are listed in the order they appear on the ballot paper (alphabetical order in Russian).

Candidate name, age, political party			Political offices	Details	Registration date
Andrey Bogdanov (38) Democratic Party (campaign)			Leader of the Democratic Party (2005-2014) Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Russia (2007–present)	Registered as a candidate on January 24. Bogdanov had an investigation opened against him for providing too many forged signatures of support for his nomination, but it was reported that even if the accusations were to be proven, his candidacy would not be dismissed.[1] At 38, he was the youngest person to run for president in Russia, a record he would retain until 2018.	24 January 2008
Vladimir Zhirinovsky (61) Liberal Democratic Party (campaign)			Deputy of the State Duma (1993–present) Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (1991–present)	Zhirinovky ran for the presidency on three prior occasions: in 1991, 1996 and 2000. His best result was third with 7.81% support. Registered as a candidate on December 26.[2]	26 December 2007
Gennady Zyuganov (63) Communist Party (campaign)			Deputy of the State Duma (1993–present) Leader of the Communist Party (1993–present)	Zyuganov ran for president in 1996 (when he came short just a few percent of the votes) and 2000, but not in 2004.[3] Officially nominated on December 15, 2007 with 215 of 218 votes in favor.[4] Registered as a candidate on December 26.[5]	26 December 2007
Dmitry Medvedev (42) United Russia (campaign)			First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia (2005-2008) Kremlin Chief of Staff (2003-2005)	Medvedev was nominated by the United Russia party, and supported by the parties A Just Russia, Agrarian Party, The Greens and Civilian Power. In addition he was supported by incumbent president Vladimir Putin.	21 January 2008

Withdrawn candidates

Candidate name, age, political party			Political offices	Details	Registration date	Date of withdrawal
Boris Nemtsov (48) Union of Right Forces (campaign)			Deputy of the State Duma (1999–2003) Deputy Prime Minister of Russia (1997–1998) Minister of Fuel and Energy of Russia (1997) Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (1991-1997)	Nemtsov was nominated by the Union of Rightist Forces on December 18, 2007[6] and was registered as a candidate on December 22.[7] He withdrew his bid on December 26 and called on his supporters to vote for Mikhail Kasyanov instead.[8]	22 December 2007	26 December 2007

Rejected candidates

The following candidates were denied registration by the CEC:

Name	Party	Profession	Reason for rejection
Vladimir Bukovsky (campaign)	Independent	Activist, Soviet-era dissident[9]	On August 3, 2007 Bukovsky received a new Russian passport at the Russian Embassy in London. He arrived in Moscow in October to launch his campaign. His bid was refused on the grounds that he hadn't lived in Russia over the last 10 years.[10]
Mikhail Kasyanov (campaign)	People's Democratic Union	Former Prime Minister and current leader of the People's Democratic Union	It was not known if Kasyanov would continue his candidacy after Garry Kasparov entered the race, but on December 8, 2007 he reaffirmed he would run in the election.[11] He successfully registered as a candidate on December 14, but later it was decided that too many of his signatures of support were forged[12] and he was disqualified.[13] Kasyanov appealed the decision to the Supreme Court,[14] which rejected the appeal on February 6, 2008.[15]
Nikolai Kuryanovich	Independent	Ultra-nationalist politician, former Deputy of the State Duma	Kuryanovich failed to hold a meeting of the citizens who supported his bid as an independent and did not provide the necessary number of signatures required for self-nomination.[16]
Oleg Shenin (campaign)	Communist Party of the Soviet Union	Leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, a minor hard-left party	Shenin's bid was not registered due to bureaucratic mistakes in his documents.[17]

Declared candidates who withdrew without registering

Many Russian politicians publicly indicated their intention to run for president in 2008, but failed to submit their nominations:

• Garry Kasparov, former World Chess Champion and United Civil Front leader. Before announcing his candidacy, he was previously inclined to endorse Viktor Gerashchenko.[18] He failed to nominate by the deadline, citing government obstructions in finding a suitable congress venue as the reason.[19]
• Alexander Donskoy, mayor of Arkhangelsk. He was charged with abuse of office, detained for several months and released on March 6, 2008 with a probationary sentence.[20]
• Viktor Gerashchenko (campaign)– former head of the Central Bank and former deputy of the nationalist Rodina party who later joined the Other Russia coalition. He was initially the favored candidate of Garry Kasparov.
• Sergei Gulyayev – former St Petersburg Yabloko regional legislator who announced his intention to run, despite the fact that Yabloko's leader had also declared his intention to stand.[21] Gulyayev was the fourth candidate from the Other Russia coalition to announce his candidacy.
• Gennadiy Seleznyov – former Speaker of the Duma (in 1995-2003); former member of the CPRF; leader of the socialist Party of Russia's Rebirth.

Possible candidates who did not run

The following individuals were included in some polls, were referred to in the media as possible candidates or had publicly expressed interest long before the elections but never announced that they would run.

• Sergey Glazyev
• Boris Gryzlov
• Sergei Ivanov
• Sergey Mironov
• Vladimir Putin -constitutionally barred from running
• Dmitry Rogozin
• Sergey Shoygu
• Grigory Yavlinsky, leader of Yabloko, who also stood for the presidency in 1996 and in 2000.[22] He was widely expected to run for the presidency as a candidate of united liberal parties. However, at the Yabloko congress on December 14, 2007, it was announced that Yavlinsky and his party would support the candidacy of Bukovsky.[23]
• Viktor Zubkov

Additionally:

• A Just Russia announced on December 7, 2007 that it would not nominate a candidate and instead would support another party's candidate (likely United Russia's).[24]

References

1. News.ru. Прокуратура выявила факт подделки подписей в поддержку Богданова. Но участь Касьянова ему не грозит. 2008-01-31.
2. Центральная избирательная комиссия Российской Федерации Archived March 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
3. Kommersant Moscow. Zyuganov Announces His Presidential Bid Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine. 2007-06-11
4. ITAR-TASS Communist leader Zyuganov nominated for Russia presidency. 2007-12-15.
5. Центральная избирательная комиссия Российской Федерации Archived March 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
6. Kyiv Post. Russian opposition party SPS nominates Nemtsov as presidential candidate Archived December 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
7. Центральная избирательная комиссия Российской Федерации Archived March 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
8. "RIA Novosti - Russia - Opposition candidate Nemtsov quits Russian presidential race". En.rian.ru. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
9. The Moscow Times. Bukovsky to Run for President 2007-05-29
10. Об отказе в регистрации группы избирателей, созданной для поддержки самовыдвижения Владимира Константиновича Буковского кандидатом на должность Президента Российской Федерации, и ее уполномоченных представителей Archived December 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
11. People's Daily Online. Russian ex-PM nominated presidential candidate. 2007-12-08.
12. "Investigators Target Kasyanov Camp". Themoscowtimes.com. 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
13. "Europe | Kasyanov barred from Russian poll". BBC News. 2008-01-27. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
14. [e-mail] (2008-02-02). "Former Russian PM challenges refusal to register him as presidential candidate - People's Daily Online". English.people.com.cn. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
15. [e-mail] (2008-02-06). "Russian court rejects former PM's request to enter presidential race - People's Daily Online". English.people.com.cn. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
16. ЦИК РФ не допустил Курьяновича к участию в президентских выборах
17. ЦентрИзбирКом . Постановление Об отказе в регистрации группы избирателей, созданной для поддержки самовыдвижения Олега Семеновича Шенина кандидатом на должность Президента Российской Федерации, и ее уполномоченных представителей
18. Washingtonpost.com. Accidental Allies in Russian Politics. 2007-06-15.q
19. Kasparov Says He Was Forced to End Bid for Presidency, Andrew Kramer, The New York Times, December 13, 2007
20. Мэр Архангельска получил три года условно; приговор будет оспорен(in Russian), Igor Kluchnikov, Radio Svoboda, March 6, 2008
21. The Moscow Times. Gulyayev to Run for President. 2007-06-26.
22. The Moscow Times. Yavlinsky Ready to Run in '08. 2007-06-18.
23. "Liberal Yavlinsky, perennial Russian candidate, not running for president". International Herald Tribune. 2009-03-29. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
24. RIA Novosti A Just Russia party will not nominate presidential candidate. 2007-12-07.