Presidential elections were held in the Russian SFSR on 12 June 1991.[1] They were the first presidential elections in the country's history and followed a referendum in March of that year on directly electing a president. The result was a victory for Boris Yeltsin, who received 58.6% of the vote.[2] Although Yeltsin ran as an independent, he was supported by Democratic Russia.[3]
Electoral system
In contrast to the subsequent elections, the Vice President stood for election together with the President. Similarly to the US presidential election system, the candidature of Vice President was exhibited along with the candidacy of the President as a joint entry on the ballot paper.
Despite the fact that four candidates were members of the Communist Party, Nikolai Ryzhkov was the only one nominated officially, the others participating in the elections as self-nominated candidates.
