There will be no more elections for three years, until the parliamentary elections of 1999. With the Russian financial crisis of 1998 and taking into account his great age , it was time for Yeltsin to leave. His health had been a problem for years, but he was not ready to name a successor. Before the elections, Yeltsin fired his entire cabinet and two prime ministers, finally going after Vladimir Putin, who was relatively unknown at the time. After Putin quickly shut down the Chechen terrorist attack and proclaimed that “the Russian army would pursue the terrorists,” his popularity exploded. In just one year, he went from a 2% approval rating to 56%. Yeltsin quickly named Putin as his successor. [Treisman 02/24/14] This electoral cycle saw the emergence of two new major power parties, Unity (Putin's Party) and All-Russia Fatherland. Once again, thanks to continued economic struggles, the Communist Party won 25% of the seats. The Unit came 2nd and the Homeland 3rd. Yabloko and the LDP were not major parties in this cycle. Shortly after the elections, Yeltsin resigned from the presidency in late 1999, making Putin president and calling for elections in three months. [Treisman 02/24/14] In the 2000 presidential election, Putin defeated Zyuganov by a wide margin – 53% to 30%, thanks in large part to Putin's recent popularity and power advantage. Yavlinsky and Zhirinovsky did not play a role in this election, coming a distant 3rd and 4th. Putin's rapid response to the Second Chechen War showed him as a fearless leader whom the Russian people respected and trusted to lead the nation into the new century. By 2003, Putin and Unity had become the most powerful political force in the short history of the Russian political system. . Thanks to three years of difficult times, a more liberal and progressive social culture present in Russia and international conflicts like those in Chechnya, Georgia and Georgia. currently in Ukraine. During Yeltsin's term, new parties emerged at each election, some in the form of alliances, others in the form of brand new parties. Since Putin's first election, the Unity Party has dominated Russian politics, but it lacks the overwhelming majorities of the previous decade. However, it is difficult to predict what the outcome of the next elections in Russia will be. Will Putin and Unity continue to dominate, or will a new opposition party succeed in ousting Putin from power? Even though the current situation makes it seem like Putin is here to stay, we have seen that it only takes a little time for the feelings of the Russian people to radically change.