WI: Zyuganov wins Russian election in 1996

[Accurateworldwar]

The 1996 Russian election saw incumbent Boris Yeltsin win re-election against communist Gennady Zyuganov in the Presidential election. Yeltsin later went on to resign in 1999, leading to the rise of Vladimir Putin. If Zyuganov won, how could things change in Russia?

 

[walmart]

 

[walmart]

he could nationalize things like the gas and oil industry but he won't be able to bring back communism

 

[David T]

I won't say that defeating the top man in Russia in democratic elections is impossible. But...there are reasons it's never, ever happened.

Indeed, there have been some who questioned if Yeltsin really won in 1996:

"The phrase that Medvedev uttered in response "will go down in history," said Sergei Babkin, the leader of an opposition party, who was the first to reveal the details of the closed-door meeting during a radio interview the following day. "He brought up the presidential elections of 1996 and said, 'There is hardly any doubt who won [that race]. It was not Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin." http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2107565,00.html

 

[samcster94]

I won't say that defeating the top man in Russia in democratic elections is impossible. But...there are reasons it's never, ever happened.

Indeed, there have been some who questioned if Yeltsin really won in 1996:

"The phrase that Medvedev uttered in response "will go down in history," said Sergei Babkin, the leader of an opposition party, who was the first to reveal the details of the closed-door meeting during a radio interview the following day. "He brought up the presidential elections of 1996 and said, 'There is hardly any doubt who won [that race]. It was not Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin." http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2107565,00.html

It is theoretically possible, and there is a shot that year. Regardless, this scenario assumes Yeltsin lost and legitimately accepted defeat, how is unimportant. I do imagine some renationalizations(Putin is a capitalist relative to this guy) and some Putin-style reforms early, but turning back into the Soviet Union is VERY unlikely. I also imagine some Putin style foreign policy, but no Trump and no Crimea, though.