Opposition Candidates Quit Race

President Vladimir Putin endorses Dmitry Medvedev to succeed him as Russia’s President. Since the announcement, two opposition candidates have withdrawn from the race.

Boris Nemtsov, a former Deputy Prime Minister in the 1990's and current leader of the Union of Right Forces party, has withdrawn as a candidate from Russia's upcoming Presidential election. Earlier in December, former world chess champion Garry Kasparov also decided not to run in the election, accusing authorities of preventing him from holding a nominating convention.

Feeling that open competition in the election is impossible, Nemtsov said "It's clear that the presidential election, like the parliamentary elections, will be a farce, since candidates do not have equal opportunities to campaign. Goebbels-like propaganda, force and bureaucratic pressures are being used against the opposition."

Nemtsov’s withdrawal comes on the heels of President Vladimir Putin’s endorsement of First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as Russia’s next President. In turn, Medvedev has asked Putin to accept the position of Prime Minister. Riding on Putin’s extremely popular coattails, Medvedev’s support has doubled since the announcement to 79%

Currently, only two opposition candidates remain in the race: Gennady Zyuganov, head of the Communist Party, and Mikhail Kasyanov, who previously served as Prime Minister under Putin. Nemtsov has called on both candidates to also withdraw unless they receive guarantees of having equal access to the news media and that state resources will not be used to damage their campaigns.

Who could blame Zyuganov and Kasyanov if they did withdraw? The outcome of Russia’s March Presidenttial election is already as predetermined as the recent Parliamentary election, which saw Putin’s United Russia party increase their control of the government.