Attempt To Ban 1996 Elections

A Decision Is Taken to Ban the 1996 Russian Presidential Elections

Unfortunately for Yeltsin and his advisors, the 1994 invasion of Chechnya did
not produce the desired result; rather the conflict developed into a bloody
quagmire that contributed significantly to a deterioration of the political
situation in Russia. In March of 1996, it looked to the ailing Yeltsin and to his
entourage as if the Russian presidency could be captured that summer by
forces unsympathetic to them or their financial interests. Korzhakov and
other hawks around Yeltsin pointed out that his popularity ratings were in the
low single digits and consequently urged him to cancel the 1996 elections.
Yeltsin initially agreed with their reasoning. “I had to take a radical step,” he
confided in his memoirs, “I told my staff to prepare the documents. Decrees
were written to ban the Communist Party, dissolve the Duma and postpone
the Presidential elections. These formulas contained the verdict: I had not
been able to manage the crisis within the framework of the current
constitution.”
In this instance, too, we see that Yeltsin was perfectly willing to violate the
“Yeltsin Constitution” of 1993 in order to remain in power. Strong opposition
to this unconstitutional action on the part of Interior Minister Anatolii Kulikov,
backed by defense minister Pavel Grachev, and supported by a key Yeltsin
advisor, Anatolii Chubais, ultimately convinced the Russian president to
reverse his decision.7 Once he had agreed to hold the elections, however,
Yeltsin continued to consider the option of postponing them for two years. At
a closed meeting held on 23 March 1996, a majority of his advisors urged
such a course. “‘Boris Nikolaevich,’ they said, ‘you’re not canceling the
elections; you’re just postponing them for two years, so you can’t be accused
of violating democratic principles.’”8 Eventually moderate advisors and