Candidates in the 1996 Russian presidential election

This article contains the list of candidates associated with the 1996 Russian presidential election.

Rejected candidates
78 voter initiative groups were authorized by the Central Election Commission to collect signatures. However, only seventeen candidates managed to submit petitions with one million signatures by the deadline on April 16. Six of these were rejected by the Central Election Commission.


 * Sergei Mavrodi, Head of MMM investment fund
 * Vladimir Podoprigora
 * Galina Starovoytova, leader of Democratic Russia, had turned in her petition the day before the deadline. Her candidacy was rejected due to irregularities with signatures. Unsuccessfully appealed to Supreme Court.
 * Artyom Tarasov, millionaire businessman, candidacy rejected due to irregularities with signatures. Unsuccessfully appealed to Supreme Court.
 * Lev Ubozhko,  leader of the Conservative Party. Candidacy was rejected due to irregularities with signatures. Unsuccessfully appealed to Supreme court.
 * Viacheslav Ushakov,  President of the Moscow Investment Foundation Joint Stock Company. Candidacy was rejected due to irregularities with signatures.  Unsuccessfully appealed to Supreme Court.

Declared candidates who withdrew without registering

 * Other declared candidates
 * Stanislav Govorukhin, film director
 * Aleksandr Ivanov-Sukharevsky, founder and leader of People's National Party
 * Nikolai Lysenko, founder and leader of NPRP
 * Vladimir Shumeyko, former Chairman of the Federation Council

Possible candidates who did not run
The following individuals were included in some polls, were referred to in the media as possible candidates or had publicly expressed interest long before the elections but never announced that they would run.
 * Ramazan Abdulatipov, former Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council and Chairman of the Soviet of Nationalities; vice presidential candidate in 1991
 * Viktor Anpilov, politician and trade unionist
 * Sergey Baburin, Deputy of the State Duma
 * Vadim Bakatin, former Chairman of the KGB and Minister of Interior of the Soviet Union
 * Vladimir Bukovsky, activist (was urged to run)
 * Viktor Chernomyrdin
 * Yegor Gaidar, former Acting Prime Minister of Russia
 * Pavel Grachev, Minister of Defence
 * Boris Fyodorov
 * Ruslan Khasbulatov
 * Yury Kokov
 * Sergei Kovalev
 * Andrei Kozyrev, former Minister of Foreign Affairs
 * Filippovna Lakhova
 * Yury Luzhkov, Mayor of Moscow
 * Albert Makashov, Deputy of the State Duma
 * Ella Pamfilova
 * Gavriil Kharitonovich Popov, former Mayor of Moscow
 * Nikolai Ryzhkov, Deputy of the State Duma, former Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Head of the Economic Department of the Central Committee; Full member of the 26th and 27th Politburos, Member of the 25th Secretariat; Full member of the 26th, 27th, 28th of the Central Committee; presidential candidate in 1991
 * Eduard Rossel, member of the Federation Council
 * Ivan Rybkin
 * Vladimir Shcherbakov,
 * Sergey Shakhray, co-author of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and former Deputy Prime Minister
 * Alexander Shokhin, former Minister of Labour, Minister of the Economy, Deputy Chairman of the Government
 * Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, author
 * Yury Skokov, leader of Congress of Russian Communities; former First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and Secretary of the Security Council
 * Anatoly Sobchak, Mayor of Saint Petersburg
 * Oleg Soskovets
 * Nikolay Travkin
 * Arkady Volsky
 * Leonid Yakubovich, television personality