REPEAT ELECTIONS AND POLLS IN RUSSIAN ELECTORAL LAW: THE HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT AND LEGAL EMBODIMENT (10–18th CENTURY)
The paper is devoted to the history of establishment and development of repeat elections’ institutes in the Russian state from the 10th to the end of 18th century. The author divides the development of these institutes into stages and describes the key characteristics of each stage. During the first stage (10th–15th centuries) second ballots and repeat elections in fact took place, but their causes were determined by the conditions in which these elections were held. The second stage (16th–17th centuries) is characterized by the introduction of some legal norms regulating the grounds for the use of these institutes. It is only at the third stage (18th century) that repeat elections and second ballot are officially recognized and embodied in laws. The author states that by determining the key regularities of the emergence and development of these institutes it is possible to give a correct evaluation of their role in contemporary electoral practice and their meaning for the political life of our society as a whole.