Soviet elections, up to the Gorbachev years, had lacked a choice of candidate, let alone of party. But from 1989 onwards, they were largely competitive, and from 1993 onwards under a postcommunist constitution they were multiparty as well. Under the Putin leadership, from 2000 onwards, there was a movement towards 'authoritarian elections' in which control of the media and of the state itself meant that candidates and parties favoured by the Kremlin could normally be assured of success. The

more »

... pected outcome of the December 2011 election suggested that arrangements of this kind were no longer secure; and although the re-election of Vladimir Putin to the presidency was not seriously in doubt, it was clear that he would be under some pressure to govern in a different way.