Introduction

This collection of 216 miscellaneous items contains ballots, books, booklets, brochures, cards, flyers, leaflets, letters, ribbons, posters, stickers, and a small number of assorted items collected during the Parliamentary elections campaign of December 4, 2011, the protests that immediately followed the elections, and the presidential elections of March 4, 2012. The materials feature political programs, party logos, slogans, and counterpropaganda. Items were collected primarily in Moscow and St. Petersburg; occasional items were collected in other regions (Siberia, Far East).

The materials are interesting from a lexicographic standpoint as the wording of many texts is a colorful representation of Russian proverbs, set phrases, and their creative adaptation to fulfill the needs of the moment.

Historical Note

The State Duma was established in its current form in 1993 as the lower house of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (Russian national parliament). The elections of December 4, 2011 were the sixth Russian parliamentary elections since then. Of the seven registered political parties that competed for 450 seats to serve for 5-year terms for the first time (previously they were 4-year terms), only four parties already represented in the previous Duma were able to overcome the 7% threshold; three opposition parties were not. The results of the elections did not change the political make-up of the Duma, though there was a major loss of seats on the part of the United Russia party (from 315 seats in the previous elections of 2007 to 238 seats in the current Duma). The results of the sixth parliamentary elections were largely criticized as fraudulent by independent Russian and international observers alike, as well as by contender parties that lost elections. Scores of complaints were expressed about ballot box stuffing, abuse of state resources in favor of certain parties, state-controlled media bias, and the performance of the Central Election Commission of Russia led by Vladimir Evgen'evich Churov. The suspected election fraud led to major street protests, primarily in Moscow and St. Petersburg. For the first time, protests were coordinated largely through social media. Over time, demonstrations progressed from protests against the results of the Duma elections to protests against the results of the presidential election.

The presidential election of March 4, 2012 was the sixth presidential election since 1991 and the first for the extended term of six years (previously it was a 4-year term). Five registered candidates - three from political parties, one independent (M. Prokhorov) and one nonpartisan nominated by the United Russia party (V. Putin) - were competing in the elections. Eleven more candidates, including Grigorii Iavlinskii from Iabloko party, were denied participation by the Central Elections Committee for various reasons.

Organization of the Collection

Items are combined in two series: parliamentary elections (Series 1) and presidential elections (Series 2). Series 1 materials (8 folders) are arranged alphabetically by party name according to transliterated spelling and then by the purpose of the material. Series 2 materials (9 folders) are arranged alphabetically by candidate's last name and then by the purpose of the material.

Note on access: As the collection is in the process of being cataloged, it is recommended to request the use of the collection in advance in order to allow time for the retrieval of materials. A request can be made using the AskALibrarian feature located on the top left-hand side of this guide.

Additional Resources

Russian and Post-Soviet Ephemera Collection at the Library of Congress
This collection is composed of diverse materials that were gathered from the Soviet Union at the time of its collapse in 1991 and shortly thereafter. Items range from propaganda posters and new political party proclamations to exhibition pamphlets and profiles of contemporary artists. Most are political in nature, although some items deal with cultural and ethnic matters. These materials can be viewed as historical documents that were popularly available at this critical time of dissolution and transition.
Russian Political Parties Web Archive
The Russian Political Parties Web Archive features the official websites of political parties in the Russian Federation.

Russia Presidential Election 2012 External This link opens in a new window
The present database represents the most comprehensive collection of election related ephemera and primary source material documenting the contentious Russian presidential elections of March 4, 2012. It contains thousands of pages of unique print materials collected by East View researchers in Moscow and other Russian cities. This one of a kind collection provides researchers easy, time- and cost-saving access to the documents and propaganda materials of this important period of Russian political life. Given the extensive use of print material by both opposition and establishment the present collection of election ephemera becomes an invaluable resource for understanding the underlying political and social dynamics of the 2012 Russian presidential election.
Russia Presidential Election, 2018 (EL-RPR18) External This link opens in a new window
The latest round of Russian presidential elections was held on March 18, 2018. Unsurprisingly, Vladimir Putin was elected president with nearly 77% of the vote, repeating the pattern set by him during previous elections – whenever Mr. Putin has run for presidency he has won with a large margin.
Challenging Putin were 7 other candidates. Meanwhile, the anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny, was not allowed to participate in the elections due to his past criminal conviction. Undeterred by the successful efforts of the Russian government to exclude him from the elections, Navalny redirected his efforts towards boycotting the elections altogether, attempting to play a spoiler.

The elections were conducted in a relatively calm domestic political environment, although in the context of a bevy of stinging international economic sanctions imposed on Russia due to its election meddling in the US, the annexation of Crimea, and the war in eastern Ukraine. According to international observers deployed to monitor the elections, they were largely conducted according to internationally recognized standards, although they lacked genuine competition, while the mechanisms set up to address various irregularities were never transparent.
Russia State Duma Election 2011 External This link opens in a new window
Ephemera produced by candidate campaigns, citizens, and the Russian government, harvested during and after the 2011 election period by East View on site. The database includes close to 6,000 pages of fully searchable biographical sketches of the leaders of the major Russian political parties, party programs, flyers, posters, photographic representations of demonstrations, media reports, party propaganda brochures and booklets, financial disclosures, and much more.
Russia State Duma Elections, 2016 (EL-RPA16) External This link opens in a new window
The September 18, 2016 State Duma elections in Russia were the first general elections since the Russian annexation of Crimea and Russian military intervention in Syria. As such they took place against the background of Western-imposed economic sanctions, rising Russian nationalism, and a general anti-Western mood prevalent in the media and the society at large. It also meant that for the first time Crimea would participate in the elections, leading to condemnation of the vote by Ukraine and non-recognition of the elections as legitimate by a string of Western powers, such as the US, Great Britain, France, Germany and others. Notwithstanding these various dynamic developments on domestic and foreign policy fronts the elections were an unusually dull affair with rare and unpronounced surprises.
The outcome of the elections was never in doubt, the result of the combination of low voter turnout and a largely apathetic electorate, which guaranteed the farther dominance of the ruling party Edinaia Rossiia (United Russia). Despite multiple irregularities in the election process and the nearly 1900 complaints received by the Central Election Commission the elections were conducted in an orderly fashion marked by occasional protests by opposition parties and civil society activists. Given the overall social and political environment and the control exercised over traditional media by the ruling party the election results were never in doubt.

The present database contains important documents and a vast trove of election ephemera collected by East View researchers in Moscow as well as Crimea. As such the collection allows researchers to gain insight into the electoral process, the messages and messaging strategies employed by candidates and political parties to gain votes in a low information electoral setting.

Russian Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Ephemera: a finding aid

European Studies: Ask a Librarian

Introduction

Historical Note

Organization of the Collection

Additional Resources