Russian Presidential Election, 2018 (The More Things Changed)

The 2018 Russian presidential election will take place on March 18th, 2018.

The first round will be held on Sunday 18 March 2018. If in the first round no candidate attains an absolute majority of the votes (more than half), then according to the law, a second round will take place exactly three weeks later, on 8 April 2018.

On 6 December 2017, incumbent President Vladimir Putin, announced that he would seek re-election for a second consecutive term and fourth term overall. Since his assassination on December 28th at Khrabrovo Airport in Kaliningrad, the prognosis has become less clear.

Acting President Dmitry Medvedev, who previously served as President from 2008-2012, has declared his intention to run as the nominee of United Russia. Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu has also stated his intention to run, as an independent.