Legislative elections were held in Russia on 7December 2003. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma (Gosudarstvennaya Duma), the lower house of the Federal Assembly. As expected, the pro-Vladimir Putin United Russia party received the most votes (38%) and won the most seats, gaining an absolute majority in the Duma. The Communist Party remained the second largest, though much reduced in strength. The Liberal Democratic Party improved its position by 19 seats, while the liberal Yabloko and the liberal-conservative Union of Right Forces lost most of their seats.

[Distribution of the constituency seats by federal subject.{{legend|#605ca8|United Russia}}{{legend|#fbbf5c|People's Party}}{{legend|#ed1b23|Communist Party}}{{legend|#f26b4e|Rodina}}{{legend|#38b549|Yabloko}}{{legend|#bc8cbf|Party of Rebirth/Party of Life}}{{legend|#00bff3|Union of Right Forces}}{{legend|#007236|Agrarian Party}}{{legend|#fff468|Great Russia}}{{legend|#a67c51|New Deal}}{{legend|#827a00|Business Development Party}}{{legend|white|Self-nominations}}{{legend|black|Seat not filled|undefined | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Russian///legislative///election///2003.png]

Results

Legacy

The 2003 election is cited by scholars as a turning point in Russian politics, as it marked the moment the federal parliament effectively became a rubber stamp body.