2003 Russian legislative election

Legislative elections were held in Russia on 7 December 2003.^[1] At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma (Gosudarstvennaya Duma), the lower house of the Federal Assembly.

As expected, the pro-Vladimir Putin United Russia party received the most votes (38%) and won the most seats, gaining a plurality in the Duma. The Communist Party remained the second largest, though much reduced in strength. The Liberal Democratic Party improved its position by 19 seats, while the liberal Yabloko and the liberal-conservative Union of Right Forces lost most of their seats.

Political parties and blocs

Opinion polls

Seat projections

Exit polls

Legacy

The 2003 election is cited by scholars as a turning point in Russian politics, as it marked the moment the federal parliament effectively became a rubber stamp body.^[7][8][9]

Notes

1. ^ Women of Russia 4%, People's Republican Party 2%, NDR, RNE 1%, other 1%.
2. ^ Women of Russia 7%, Russia 2%, People's Republican Party, RNE 1%, other 1%.
3. ^ Women of Russia 6%, DPR, RNE, Russia 1%, other 3%.
4. ^ Women of Russia 8%, PVR 3%, RNE, RPP, Development of Enterprise 2%, NPRF, Liberal Russia 1%, other 1%.
5. ^ PVR, Greens 2%, NPRF, RPP, DPR, RNE, SDPR 1%, other 1%.
6. ^ PVR 3%, Greens, NPRF, RPP 1%, other <1%.
7. ^ RPZh 3.1%, PVR 2.5%.
8. ^ Greens 2%, NPRF, PVR-RPZh, DPR 1%, other 1%.
9. ^ PVR-RPZh 2%, NPRF, Great Russia—Eurasian Union 1%, New Cource 0%.
10. ^ Greens, PVR-RPZh, DPR, NPRF 1%.
11. ^ RPP–PSS, Greens, VR–EAS, Development of Enterprise, NPRF 1%.
12. ^ RPP–PSS 2%, NPRF, Development of Enterprise 1%.
13. ^ RPP–PSS 1.9%, Greens 1.1%, NPRF 1%, KPE 0.8%, ZRS 0.4%, NRPR, PVR–RPZh 0.3%, Development of Enterprise, VR–EAS 0.2%, ORP Rus, NC–AR, DPR, SLON 0.1%
14. ^ RPP–PSS 3%, NPRF, ORP Rus, PVR–RPZh, KPE 1%.

References

1. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1642 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
2. ^ "Избирательные объединения и блоки на выборах - 2003" [Electoral associations and blocs in the 2003 election] (in Russian). politika.su. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
3. ^ "Если бы выборы были в сентябре, "Единая Россия" потеряла бы контроль над Думой" (in Russian). newsru.com. 8 October 2003. Archived from the original on 17 April 2004.
4. ^ "На выборах победят КПРФ, ЛДПР и «Яблоко»" (in Russian). gazeta.ru. 3 November 2003. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
5. ^ "ФОМ: СПС не проходит в Госдуму" (in Russian). RBC. 7 December 2003. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
6. ^ "Выборы в Госдуму: свежие результаты exit polls" (in Russian). RBC. 8 December 2003. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
7. ^ Rosefielde, Steven & Hedlund, Stefan (2009). Russia Since 1980. Cambridge University Press. p. 174. ISBN 9780521849135. Retrieved September 23, 2023. Duma election of 2003, reducing the legislature to a rubber stamp.
8. ^ Troianovski, Anton & Nechepurenko, Ivan (2021-09-19). "Russian Election Shows Declining Support for Putin's Party". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived 2021-09-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
9. ^ China Russia Compared wesleyan.edu July 2015

External links

• Election results – official information Archived 10 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)