Russians Brace For 2018 Presidential Election, Putin Runs As Independent

As Russians prepare to go to the polls in March and elect a president for a six-year term, contenders are already signaling what issues they believe to be priority areas. The incumbent candidate and three-time President Vladimir Putin has been highlighting Russia’s achievements in global security under his tenure as president, and the need for the government to respond to citizens’ demands vis-à-vis technological changes.

"The irreversibility of achievements and changes are our readiness to respond to global challenges, to protect the Russian statehood, life and security of people from threats and shocks, to create conditions for the growth and well-being of the citizens," Putin told attendees at a recent gathering of the ruling United Russia Party in Moscow on December 23.

Presidential campaigning kicked off earlier this month, and will continue right up until the election, scheduled for March 18. Contenders also include Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin, and Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

Putin is trying to secure a new six-year term in office, as his popularity is high according to Russian pollsters. Moreover, his party’s complete control over all branches of Russia’s government is expected to contribute to Putin’s victory, although he has said he is running as an independent candidate in this election.

Opinion poll results released by Russia’s Levada Center on December 13 put support for Putin at 61 percent, whereas the results of another poll by Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsIOM) put the number at 82 percent.

According to Dmitriy Zhuravlyev, Director-General of the Institute for Regional Problems, Putin’s move was meant to signal to the public that he does not want to be associated with a single party, but instead be viewed as the candidate for all Russians.

While the move may seem illogical by western political standards – where party affiliation is the norm – Zhuravlyev explained that it bodes well for a politician’s persona in Russia.

"Regardless of which parties are present in the Russian political scene, it is best for any serious candidate to stand as an independent candidate and not be associated with a specific party structure," Zhuravlyev said, according to RU Economics.

Some say Putin is trying to shore up the votes of those Russians who do not hold a favorable view of the United Russia Party by running as an independent.

While Putin has tried to distance himself from the United Russia Party, it endorsed his candidacy at the gathering on December 23.

Leonid Polyakov from the Institute of Socioeconomic and Political Studies says that Putin “has proved himself to be an exceptional political leader of a global scale, and he is a man who has been repeatedly recognized as the most influential politician in the world by various Western journals,” adding that the “colossal experience” Putin has amassed “is in demand."