1990 Soviet Union presidential election

none Soviet Union presidential electoral 14 March 1990 Mikhail Gorbachev in the White House Library (3x4 cropped).jpg Mikhail Gorbachev Communist Party of the Soviet Union 1,329 72.86% President Office established Mikhail Gorbachev Communist Party of the Soviet Union The 1990 Soviet Union presidential election was held in the Soviet Union on 14 March 1990 to elect a president for a five-year term. This was the first and only presidential election to be held in the Soviet Union. This was due to the office of president being established in 1990, a year before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The elections were uncontested, with Mikhail Gorbachev, then-General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as the only candidate.Выборы первого президента СССР Rusfate, 18 March 2018 Although the constitution required the president to be directly-elected,USSR Constitution 1977. Article 127.1 Garant it was decided that the first elections should be held on an indirect basis as it was necessary for a president to be elected immediately and processes taking place in the country did not leave time for elections to be held.15 МАРТА 1990 Г. 25 ЛЕТ НАЗАД МИХАИЛ ГОРБАЧЕВ БЫЛ ИЗБРАН ЕДИНСТВЕННЫМ В ИСТОРИИ СССР ПРЕЗИДЕНТОМ Live Internet, 15 March 2015 Background On 7 February 1990, about a month prior to the election, Communist Party leaders voted on establishing a presidency.https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/02/08/soviet-party-votes-to-drop-monopoly-on-power/3a34693f-a072-4dfc-ab36-a73725fa301c/ SOVIET PARTY VOTES TO DROP MONOPOLY ON POWER Dobbs Michael February 8, 1990 The Washington Post March 5, 2019 The third (extraordinary) Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR began on 12 March 1990. The congress decided to create the post of President of the USSR.Первый и последний: как Горбачев стал президентом СССР BBC Russian, 11 March 2015Избрание М.С. Горбачева Президентом СССР на Третьем съезде народных депутатов СССР https://web.archive.org/web/20201030140426/https://histrf.ru/lenta-vremeni/event/view/izbraniie-m-s-gorbachieva-priezidientom-sssr-na-trietiem-siezdie-narodnykh-dieputatov-sssr 2020-10-30 Istoriya.RF The president would be elected to five-year terms. The CPD would elect the president for this election cycle, then turn over future elections to the public starting in 1995—which never happened due to the USSR's collapse in 1991.https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/03/15/gorbachev-elected-president/a0e4b785-dad1-45bc-a2cc-308424e4e454/ GORBACHEV ELECTED PRESIDENT Remnick David March 15, 1990 The Washington Post March 5, 2019 Candidates On 14 March, during a plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, Gorbachev, Interior Minister Vadim Bakatin and former Prime Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov were nominated as presidential candidates; however, Bakatin and Ryzhkov withdrew their candidacies. Nominee Communist Partywhite Mikhail Gorbachev center|x200px|border Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union(1989–1990) Withdrew Candidate Political office center|x200pxVadim Bakatin Minister of Interior(1988–1990) center|x180pxNikolai Ryzhkov Chairman of the Council of Ministers(1985–1991) Mikhail Gorbachev's campaign Gorbachev worked with the Congress to make sure that he secured a two-thirds majority; otherwise, he would have to campaign against other candidates in a general election. One of the tactics he used was repeatedly threatening to resign if a two-thirds majority wasn't attained.https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/gorbachev-elected-president-of-the-soviet-union Gorbachev elected president of the Soviet Union History March 6, 2019 Results At the time of the elections, 2,245 of the 2,250 seats were filled; however, 245 did not attend the Congress and a further 122 did not vote. Mikhail Gorbachev Communist Party of the Soviet Union 1329 Against 495 54 2245 BBC Aftermath On 15 March, the day after the election, at a meeting of the Congress of People's Deputies, Gorbachev took office as President.Присяга Горбачева в качестве президента СССР https://web.archive.org/web/20190307173852/https://diletant.media/video/prisyaga-gorbacheva-v-kachestve-prezidenta-sssr/ 2019-03-07 Diletant, 15 March 2016Инаугурация - праздник победы кандидата большинства RBC, 7 May 2012 On 24 March, 10 days after the election, President Gorbachev appointed his cabinet.https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/03/25/gorbachev-appoints-new-cabinet/ff1d10c5-6442-494d-96aa-91dcc4541e10/?noredirect=on GORBACHEV APPOINTS NEW CABINET March 25, 1990 The Washington Post March 6, 2019 Reactions The means of this election drew mixed reactions. Sergei Stankevich, a deputy from Moscow, decided that he would abstain from voting, despite supporting Gorbachev, because he believed that the new president should face a nationwide vote. Others were upset with the lack of real opposition against Gorbachev for a position that sought to increase democracy throughout the Soviet Union. Sakhalin Island Deputy Ivan Zhdakayev expressed discontent over this: "Elections mean a popular vote, not this charade." Kazakhstani Deputy Olzhas Suleimenov believed that reforms under Gorbachev were inconsistent. References President Category:One-party elections Category:Single-candidate elections in the Soviet Union Category:March 1990 in the Soviet Union