Politics in Russia is still focused on the trouble with the economy and the legislative elections held in December 1999 and the presidential ones scheduled 2000.

The political uncertainties were underscored in August 1999, when President Yeltsin fired his Prime Minister, Sergei Stapashin, the fourth time he had done so in fifteen months. He was replaced by the little-known Vladimir Putin, whom Yeltsin also designated as his preferred successor. No one gave Putin much of a chance of succeeding Yeltsin until the fighting broke out once again in Chechnya. Unlike the earlier war there, this one enjoyed massive popular support and much of that went to Putin personally.

In the legislative elections, the new party put together to support Putin and others of his ilk, Medved, did surprisingly well, winning almost a quarter of the vote and falling just short of the communists. What's more, other centrists and moderate reforms did quite poorly, further solidifying Putin's position.

The biggest shock came on New Year's eve when President Yeltsin announced his immediate resignation with Putin becoming acting President. New elections are scheduled for March, and as of this writing (January 2000), Putin has few rivals that could seriously challenge his now-anticipated victory.

Party	% of proportional vote	Seats
Communists	24.3	113
Medved (Putin's party)	23.3	72
Fatherland All Russia (Primakov's party)	17.3	66
Union of Right Forces	8.5	29
Zhirinovsky bloc	6.0	17
Yabloko	5.9	21
Other	14.7	12
Non-partisan		106
Unattributed seats		14

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