It is worth mentioning that born in 1951, Malyshkin was elected to the fourth State Duma. The reason why he was nominated so fast is because the party he is part of does not have to collect 2 million signatures in order to have him registered as a presidential candidate, since it mustered over 5 percent of votes during the recent elections in the State Duma. The Central Election Commission gave Malyshkin a certificate of the Russian presidential candidate.

In addition, the Commission has also registered a group of representatives of the Russian Party of Life that had proposed Sergey Mironov, the Chairman of the Federation Council of Russia, as a presidential candidate. 224 people are on the list. Together with this list, the Central Election Commission registered a list people in charge of financial issues and gave permission to Mr. Mironov to open a special election bank account in Sberbank to collect money for the election campaign.

The Communist Party nominated Nikolay Kharitonov to run for presidency. Since the party surpassed a 5-percent barrier during the parliamentary elections on December 7, 2003 he does not have to collect 2 million signatures in his support.

As far as Viktor Gerashchenko, the ex-Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, is concerned, his candidacy is supported by the Party of Russian Regions, which is part of the Rodina bloc. But like Mr. Mironov he will also need to collect 2 million signatures in order to get registered for the upcoming presidential rally.

Despite the fact that the Rodina bloc mustered more than 5 percent during the elections in the State Duma, candidates proposed by any of the parties that belong to the block have to collect signatures.

Among other potential candidates that might run for presidency via self-nomination are: current President of Russia Vladimir Putin, businessmen Vladimir Bryntsalov and Anzori Aksentyev, former State Duma Speaker Ivan Rybkin, leader of the Rodina bloc Sergey Glazyev and Co-Chairman of the Union of Right Forces (SPS) party Irina Khakamada. All documents necessary for the registration are to be submitted to the Central Election Commission by 6 p.m. on January 28.