1997 Moscow City Duma election
1997 Moscow City Duma election
The 1997 election for Moscow's unicameral city parliament (the city council) was held on December 14. Twenty-eight associations and four electoral blocs participated.
Background: In 1995, the Duma deputies refused to schedule new elections and extended their term by two years. A two-year court case followed, and in summer 1997 the court ruled that extending the powers was illegal.
Campaigns:
- Nikolai Gonchar bloc: the only bloc with a platform criticizing Mayor Yury Luzhkov. It was formed by the Our City movement, the Moscow Association of Councils of Territorial and Social Self-Government, and the Moscow branch of the Democratic Party of Russia, and it had 33 candidates. Posters read, “There should be a separation of powers, but the present Moscow City Duma is nothing but a pie with no filling.”
- My Moscow bloc: emphasized that Muscovites supported the Mayor's actions and focused on ecological and transportation problems.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 02:18 (CET).