Today in Russia is an ambiguous date, not a holiday at all, but exactly twenty four years ago – 3 July 1996 of the year – the country's first president, Boris Yeltsin, was re-elected to second place. Those elections went down in Russian history as the most “dirty”.
If someone does not remember, and many of the readers “military review” quite young and have not seen those times, 3 July 1996 the first Russian President Boris Yeltsin was re-elected for a second term, ahead of his opponent from the Communist Party Gennady Zyuganov. What does it have to do with Zyuganov not just representing the Communist Party of the Russian Federation at that time?, and was a candidate from the left opposition.
Election campaign 1996 year is called in Russia the most exciting and most “dirty”. At that time, the Internet boom began in Russia and Russian presidential candidates took full advantage of it, launching all sorts of, like now, It called, flash mobs in support. Yeltsin's election program, held under the slogan “Vote, or you'll lose”, relied on that, what if the Russians elect communists, the country will again be left without food, There will again be no products on store shelves, etc.. At the same time, people were promised on television “bright future”, which will come with Yeltsin.
51-summer Gennady Zyuganov, cheerful and active, was considered a complete retrograde, representing a return to the past, and his opponent is a frankly decrepit 65-year-old opponent, suffered about five heart attacks during the campaign, — Russia’s only hope for a bright future
– He writes “Gazeta.ru”
In his election program, Yeltsin “played to the people”, making full use of the media. At that time, political scientists or PR specialists, speaking from Yeltsin's side, fully opposed the communists, constantly sounded from the screens: “Vote, otherwise you'll lose!”, “God forbid!”, “Buy food for the last time!”, the main slogan of the election program of the first Russian president was: “Choose with your heart”.
Yeltsin himself, who remembers, “went to the people”, swinging on a swing, participated in various celebrations, danced ridiculously with singer Evgeny Osin.
The result of the elections was, that Yeltsin finally went for a second term, although the voting results were mixed. According to the election commission, he took first place, ahead of Zyuganov by 13,5%, I typed 53,8%. The main battle was for the percentage of Alexander Lebed, who took third place in the 1st round.. In fact, these 14,5% everything was decided (except “counting methods”, to which they were, to put it mildly, claims). General Lebed's own voices, as is commonly believed, gave it to Yeltsin, replacing them with the position of Secretary of the Security Council.
Well, and at the end a joke, who walked after the elections:
Chairman of the Central Election Commission Ryabov calls Yeltsin the morning after the vote.
— Boris Nikolaevich, I have two news: one is bad, the other one is good.
- Well, start with the bad.
— Boris Nikolaevich, Zyuganov dialed 52%.
- And what kind of good one can be now??
- You are ahead of him by a huge advantage…
