Analysis of Electoral Preferences in Russia in 1993-2003: Polarization Index Dynamics

Fuad Aleskerov; A. Borodin; Svyatoslav Kaspe; Vadim Marshakov; Aleksey Salmin

In this work we apply the index of political polarization to measure heterogeneity of society’s political preferences revealed through nation-wide election results. The index is calculated on the basis of the results of 1993–2003 Russian Duma elections and positioning of political parties on three-dimension system of «political coordinates».

Several important issues regarding the use of the index both on national and regional level are then addressed, although authors believe that further studies will reveal additional fields for their application.

The study of dynamics of polarization index calculated for the national election results as a whole reveals several positive tendencies and allows arguing for the stabilization of self-identity of Russian voters (as opposed to wide-spread pessimistic view that Russian political system tends towards a «dominant-party» scenario).

On the regional level statistical analysis provides evidence for the increasing importance of the «national idea» for voters’ decision-making, as well as significant role of «administrative resource» in certain Federation subjects.

Citation: Aleskerov F., Borodin A., Kaspe S., Marshakov V., Salmin A. (2005) Analiz elektoral'nykh predpochteniy v Rossii v 1993–2003 gg.: dinamika indeksa polyarizovannosti [Analysis of Electoral Preferences in Russia in 1993–2003: Polarization Index Dynamics ]. Ekonomicheskiy zhurnal VShE, vol. 9, no 2, pp. 173-184 (in Russian)