2003 Russian legislative election

File:Russian legislative election 2003.png

Distribution of the constituency seats by federal subject.Template:Collapsible list

Legislative elections were held in Russia on 7Template:NbspDecember 2003.<ref name=NS>Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1642 Template:ISBN</ref> 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.

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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>China Russia Compared wesleyan.edu July 2015</ref>

External links

• Election results – official information Template:Webarchive Template:In lang