The elections are as much a contest between personalities, and the power blocs they control,
as a conventional electoral race between parties. Click the names on the right for an at-a-glance
guide to the key figures and political groupings.
At 70, Yevgeny Primakov is two years older
than Boris Yeltsin, but in better health. He won
huge popularity in eight months as Russia's
prime minister after the rouble devaluation of
He worked as a journalist and an academic specialising in
the Arab world before becoming Russia's head of foreign
intelligence in the wake of the Soviet collapse. He moved
from there to the position of Foreign Minister, where he
gained respect at home and abroad as a tough but
pragmatic supporter of Russia's interests, and an
opponent of Nato's eastward expansion. This reputation
enabled him to win the Russian parliament's support for
the Founding Act detailing the future shape of relations
between Nato and Russia.
Mr Primakov's attempt to court popularity in the
Communist-dominated parliament is thought to be one
reason why President Yeltsin sacked him. Mr Primakov has declared his intention to run for the presidency in June 2000. But his party, Fatherland-All Russia, fared badly in the parliamentary elections, and his chances of victory are not high, while Prime Minister Vladimir Putin continues to ride a wave of popularity on the back of military successes in Chechnya.