The Electoral System of Modern Russia: history and prospects for development

Abstract

The institution of elections ensures the free expression of the citizens’ will. However, the electoral system in Russia is going through a difficult period faced with the need to adapt to the current global reality and the growing influence of network communications. Its modernization will largely depend on understanding its history. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide a comprehensive historical and political analysis of the development of the electoral system in modern Russia. The results show that the current electoral institution had a significant impact on the formation and consolidation of the Russian political system at the beginning of the 21st century and on overcoming the consequences of the post-Soviet political transformation. The paper offers a review of the key approaches to overcoming the current problems of the electoral system, including the introduction of modern information and communication technologies into the electoral process, as well as issues of consolidating these technologies, electronic voting mechanisms and digital communications in Russian electoral law.