Grigory Yavlinsky of the Yabloko Party runs for president, 1996

Economist Grigory Yavlinsky had started his career in 1976 as a member of an All-Union Research Institute for the Soviet coal industry. After joining the Communist Party in 1985, he advanced steadily in the ranks of Soviet economic administration until 1989, when he became head of the State Commission for Economic Reforms. One of the original architects of the “500 Days” plan, he resigned from government on 17 October 1990 when it became clear that the program would not be implemented. Following the August putsch of 1991, Yavlinsky participated in efforts to bring the GKChP hardliners to justice, and continued to occupy a prominent position in Gorbachev’s administration until the collapse of the USSR. Though Yeltsin briefly considered Yavlinsky for the position of Prime Minister, the role ultimately went to Yegor Gaidar, who would go on to administer post-Soviet economic reform via “shock therapy.” During the initial phases of the 1993 Constitutional Crisis, Yavlinsky called on both sides of the conflict to lay down arms and seek compromise, but by 3-4 October was appearing on television to call on Yeltsin to “suppress the mutiny,” earning sharp criticism from Gaidar.

By the mid-1990s, Yavlinsky had formed his own center-left political organization — “Yabloko [apple],” a portmanteau of its founders’ last names. In the leadup to the 1996 presidential contest, Yavlinsky planned to run against both Yeltsin and the communist Zyuganov. But when Zyuganov took a commanding lead in the polls, Yavlinsky met with Yeltsin to propose a coalition — provided Yeltsin met several conditions, including ending the war in Chechnya and increasing the federal minimum wage. When Yeltsin failed to meet even one of his demands, Yavlinsky withdrew his offer and sought to ally himself with several other candidates (excluding Zyuganov) before deciding to strike out on his own.

The eleven-minute ad featured here was cut into shorter, more TV-friendly spots, but achieves a truly phantasmagoric effect when viewed all at once. A jaunty soundtrack plays as a diverse parade of actors dances in front of a green screen, each more anxious than the last to declare his or her undying love for Yavlinsky. Thin on explicit messaging, the video nonetheless conveys a certain populism. Yavlinsky, we learn, is the favorite of absolutely every demographic, no matter how niche: from drunken wife-beaters, to pilots, to policemen, to young business professionals, to countryside babushkas, to gossipy middle-aged women. Yavlinsky’s candidacy was unsuccessful — not only in 1996, when he came in fourth place in the first electoral round, but also in 2000, when he won only 5% of the vote against Vladimir Putin. By 2012, he was ready for another attempt, but was not even permitted on the ballot — despite having collected the 2 million citizen signatures required by law. His latest run was in 2018, when he made it to the ballot but won just 1% of the vote.