page_title: Vladimir Putin 2000 presidential campaign
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Vladimir Putin 2000 presidential campaign / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW. President Boris Yeltsin meeting Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.Русский: МОСКВА, КРЕМЛЬ. Встреча Президента России Бориса Ельцина с Председателем Правительства России Владимиром Путиным.
context_page_description: The 2000 presidential campaign of Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia, was announced on 13 January 2000, during his during his trip to Saint Petersburg.
  This campaign was first presidential campaign of Vladimir Putin.
context_section_description: On 9 August 1999, Boris Yeltsin dismissed Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin and appointed Vladimir Putin as the new Prime Minister. On the same day, in his televised address, Yeltsin said that the best choice would be the election of Putin as President, in the election to be held in the summer of 2000.
  In December 1999, legislative elections were held and the Communist Party headed by Gennady Zyuganov won again. The second place was taken by the party Unity headed by Sergey Shoygu and supported by Vladimir Putin. Third place was taken by the party Fatherland - All Russia headed by former Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov and Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov.
  In mid-1999, Primakov and Luzhkov were considered the frontrunners for the presidency. Both were critical of Yeltsin, and he feared that they might prosecute him and his “Family” for corruption should they ascend to power. Primakov had suggested that he would be “freeing up jail cells for the economic criminals he planned to arrest.” In December 1999 Yury Luzhkov was re-elected as Mayor of Moscow, and announced that he would not compete for the presidency; Primakov pulled out two weeks after the legislative elections. In this regard, the main rival of Putin was Gennady Zyuganov.
  At noon, on 31 December 1999, Boris Yeltsin, in his televised address, announced his resignation. In accordance with article 92 of the Russian Constitution, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin became the Acting President, and early presidential elections were scheduled for March 2000.
caption: Boris Yeltsin with Vladimir Putin on 31 December 1999 after Yeltsin's resignation
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