The nominee of the Communist Party, Ryzhkov was the strongest of several candidates running against frontrunner Boris Yeltsin in the election.
Despite their opposition to the creation of a presidency, the Communist Party of the RSFSR had declared on April 5 that it was interested in nominating a candidate in the presidential election.
[5] Ryzhkov claimed that he had been urged to challenge Yeltsin by representatives of industrial and agricultural enterprises as well as public organizations.
[5] Speculation on who the Communist Party would nominate had briefly centered on Vadim Bakatin before Ryzhkov's April 1 announcement.
[12] He also won the immediate endorsements of figures such as Ivan Polozkov and Yegor Ligachyov (both of whose political views largely aligned with Ryzhkov's).
The ultra-conservative wing of the party, the Initiative Congress of Russian Communists, rejected Ryzhkov and instead gave its backing to Aleksei Sergeev.
[15] In announcing Gromov as his running mate, Ryzhkov called him, "one of the most popular generals in our army" and "a mature political figure known for his lofty moral sense.
Thus, upon Bakatin's entrance into the presidential race, the party began to provide support to his campaign in addition to Ryzhkov's.
[24] Beginning in late-May, Politburo members Alexander Dzasokhov and Yegor Stroyev began campaigning on behalf of Ryzhkov.
[15] In the final days of the election period, there was intense activity on the part of local and providential Communist Party organizations to mobilize the Russian electorate in support of Ryzhkov.
[26] Ryzhkov had a conservative platform aimed at appealing to those who most opposed radical reform (namely government bureaucrats and those employed in the military-industrial complex).
[27] Ryzhkov largely based his campaign platform off of the former government program (which had been rejected by Gorbachev for being too cautious on reform).
However, he also sought to address concerns which voters had about the government of the Soviet Union, stating, "I am most resolute in my intention to uphold Russians' interests.
I think we should not simply give power to a person who has not made any substantial contribution to the development of Russia, or to the strengthening of the union for that matter.
"[22] Additionally, Ryzhkov pledged to combat over-bureaucratization, protect the rights of Russian expatriates, and to double the salaries of workers.