According to a poll by VTSIOM his candidacy was known by only 8% of the Russian electorate.
The West has few means at its disposal to influence the Russian electorate, especially since too blatant an endorsement of Mr. Yeltsin could backfire with nationalists.
Would an overall electronic system have been more reassuring to the Russian electorate?
As a candidate for the 2008 presidential election, he received 968,344 votes or 1.30% of the Russian electorate.
The preliminary results mean that the Russian electorate is still capable of producing surprises.
It is unclear whether this approach will work on the Russian electorate, but it seems to have been well received in the West.
Exhausted, disillusioned and uncertain, much of the Russian electorate, it seems, just wants to be left alone.
Mr. Chernomyrdin is dull, and the Russian electorate has shown little taste for dull candidates.
The worst thing about the Duma election was that it showed how easily the Russian electorate can be manipulated.
Those reformers are dispirited because they represent less than a fifth of the Russian electorate.