Governor Vyacheslav Pozgalev was appointed by President Yeltsin in June 1996. In March of this year Pozgalev had been elected mayor to the oblast's largest city, Cherepovets, gaining more than 80% of the vote. Former Governor Nikolai Podgornov, a member of Our Home Is Russia, who was dismissed 23 March for abusing his power, also announced his intention to join the race. In the 1993 elections to the Federation Council Podgornov came in second with 30.8% of the vote after Pozgalev, who won 44.7% of the vote.
Another candidate is businessman Mikhail Surov, a member of the Legislative Assembly and leader of the Popular Movement of Vologda.
The communists support Mikhail Beznin, a professor of Vologda university, who is unknown to the public.
Gennadii Khripel was elected chairman of the Legislative Assembly in February 1996, a post he had previously held from March 1994 until his resignation in September 1995.
Vologda Oblast is situated in the southwest of the East European plain. Its administrative center, Vologda, is 500 km (300 miles) northeast of Moscow on the Vologda River, a tributary of the Sukhona River. Vologda is an important rail junction with lines to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk and Kirov. The timber industry dominates the oblast's economy. Other main industries include metallurgy in Cherepovets and engineering in Vologda.
1995 Population: 1,354,500 (0.91% of Russian total)
Industrial production as percentage of all Russian production (Jan.-Aug. 1995): 1.95%
Agricultural production as percentage of all Russian production (1994): 1.26%
Average personal income index in July 1995: 101 (Russia as a whole = 100)
Price basket index in July 1995: 96 (Russia = 100)
Average back wages owed per person (September 1995): 20,900 rubles (Russian average = 37,100)
Urban population: 67.2% (Russia overall: 73.0%)
Student population (1993): 128 per 10,000 (Russia overall: 171/10,000)
Pensioner population (1994): 26.1%
Percent of population with higher education (1989 census): 8.2% (Russia overall: 11.3%)
Percent of population working in (1993):
Number of telephones per 100 families (1993):
According to a survey by Bank Austria, the oblast was ranked 26th among Russia's 89 regions on investment climate.
1996 Presidential Election
| Candidate | Turnout in First Round | Turnout in Second Round |
| Yeltsin | 45.17% | 63.97% |
| Zyuganov | 18.66% | 28.49% |
| Lebed | 17.63% | NA |
| Zhirinovsky | 7.12% | NA |
| Yavlinskii | 5.92% | NA |
| Overall Turnout (Vologda Oblast) | 69.03% | 67.41% |
| Overall Turnout (Russia) | 69.67% | 68.79% |
1995 Parliamentary Election
| Party | Result |
| Liberal Democratic Party of Russia | 14.36% |
| Communist Party of the Russian Federation | 12.09% |
| Our Home Is Russia | 10.69% |
| Yabloko | 5.53% |
| Agrarian Party of Russia | 6.17% |
| Women of Russia | 6.69% |
| Agrarian Party of Russia | 6.17% |
| Communists - Workers' Russia | 4.71% |
| Congress of Russian Communities | 4.36% |
| Party of Worker's Self-Government | 3.40% |
| Russia's Democratic Choice | 4.99% |
| Derzhava | 2.02% |
| In single-member districts: Communist Party of the Russian Federation -- 1; Independent -- 1 | |
| Turnout in Vologda Oblast | 64.16% |
| Turnout in Russia | 64.37% |
1993 Constitutional Referendum
| Yes | 67.94% |
| No | 29.34% |
1993 Parliamentary Election
| Party | Result |
| Liberal Democratic Party of Russia | 29.66% |
| Russia's Choice | 16.51% |
| Agrarian Party of Russia | 15.21% |
| Women of Russia | 9.59% |
| Yabloko | 5.84% |
| Communist Party of the Russian Federation | 5.19% |
| Party of Russian Unity and Concord | 5.18% |
| Democratic Party of Russia | 4.36% |
| In single-member districts: 1 Agrarian Party of Russia; 1 12 December Union | |
| Turnout in Vologda Oblast | 59.98% |
| Turnout in Russia overall | 54.34% |
1991 Presidential Election
| Candidate | Result |
| Yeltsin | 53.78% |
| Ryzhkov | 20.7% |
| Zhirinovsky | 7.8% |
| Tuleev | 6.01% |
| Bakatin | 4.0% |
| Makashov | 2.91% |
| Turnout in Vologda Oblast | 77.38% |
| Turnout in Russia | 76.66% |
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Sources Goroda Rossii [Cities of Russia], Moscow: Bolshaya Rossiiskaya Entsiklopediya, 1994 Rossiiskie regiony nakanune vyborov-95 [Russian regions on the eve of 1995 elections], Moscow: Yuridicheskaya Literatura, 1995. Itogi vyborov 17 dekabrya 1995 goda po regionam [Results of the 17 December 1995 elections, regional breakdown], Moscow: Panorama, 1996. Vybory deputatov Gosudarstvennoi Dumy 1995 [State Duma elections 1995], Moscow: Central Electoral Commission, 1996. | |