1996 Russian presidential election

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1996 Russian presidential election

← 1991 16 June 1996 (first round) 3 July 1996 (second round) 2000 →
Opinion polls
Registered	108,589,050 (second round)
Turnout	68.78% (5.89pp) (second round)
Nominee Boris Yeltsin Gennady Zyuganov Party Independent Communist Popular vote 40,203,948 30,102,288 Percentage 54.40% 40.73%
Second round results by federal subject Yeltsin:      45–50%      50–55%      55–60%      60–65%      65–70%      70–75%      75–80% Zyuganov:      45–50%      50–55%      55–60%      60–65%
President before election Boris Yeltsin Independent Elected President Boris Yeltsin Independent

Presidential elections were held in Russia on 16 June 1996, with a second round being held on 3 July. It resulted in a victory for the incumbent President of Russia Boris Yeltsin, who ran as an independent politician. Yeltsin defeated Communist challenger Gennady Zyuganov in the run-off, receiving 54.4% of the vote. Yeltsin's second inauguration ceremony took place on 9 August.

Yeltsin would not complete the second term for which he was elected, as he resigned on 31 December 1999, eight months before the scheduled end of his term on 9 August 2000. This was the first presidential election to take place in post-Soviet Russia. This has also been so far the only Russian presidential election in which no candidate was able to win on the first round, and as such a run-off was necessary.