President of the Russian Federation
Mr President
(informal)
Comrade Supreme Commander
(military)
His Excellency[1]
(diplomatic)
- Moscow Kremlin (official)
- Novo-Ogaryovo (residential)
Six years, renewable once
президент.рф
(in Russian)
eng.kremlin.ru
(in English)
The modern incarnation of the office emerged from the president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). In 1991, Boris Yeltsin was elected president of the RSFSR, becoming the first non-Communist Party member to be elected into a major Soviet political role. He played a crucial role in the dissolution of the Soviet Union which saw the transformation of the RSFSR into the Russian Federation. Following a series of scandals and doubts about his leadership, violence erupted across Moscow in the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis. As a result, a new constitution was implemented and the 1993 Russian Constitution remains in force today. The constitution establishes Russia as a semi-presidential system which separates the president of Russia from the Government of Russia which exercises executive power.[5]
In all cases where the president of the Russian Federation is unable to fulfill their duties, those duties shall be temporarily delegated to the prime minister of Russia, who becomes acting president of Russia.[6]
The powers of the presidency include: execution of federal law, appointing federal ministers, and members of the judiciary, and negotiating treaties with foreign powers. The president also has the power to grant federal pardons and reprieves, and to convene and adjourn the Federal Assembly under extraordinary circumstances. The president also appoints the prime minister, who directs domestic policy of the Russian Federation alongside the president.
The president is elected directly through a popular vote to a six-year term. Previously, the Constitution established a term limit for the presidency restricting the officeholder to serve no more than two consecutive terms. However, this limitation has since been overhauled in large part due to the constitutional amendments that were ratified in 2020. One of the amendments passed reset the terms of both Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, allowing either to serve as president for a full two terms regardless of their previous terms. In all, three individuals have served four presidencies spanning six full terms. In May 2012, Vladimir Putin became the fourth president; he was re-elected in March 2018 and in March 2024 for two consecutive six-year terms.
President of Russia
The president of the Russian Federation (Russian: Президент Российской Федерации, romanized: Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. It is the highest office in Russia.
History
After the fall of monarchy in 1917, the All-Russian Constituent Assembly, elected later that year, planned on establishing a democratic presidential or semi-presidential federal republic, proclaiming the Russian Democratic Federal Republic (RDFR) in January 1918. The president of the RDFR would have been the head of state, elected for a one-year term by a majority vote in parliament involving the deputies of both chambers.[7] Due to the dissolution of the assembly by the Bolsheviks and establishment of their one-party dictatorship, no person was ever elected to this office.
Boris Yeltsin came to power with a wave of high expectations not long before the Soviet Union's collapse. In May 1990, he was elected as chairman of the Supreme Soviet (parliament) of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (SFSR) – the highest state office – and thus became the head of state. As a result of the creation of the post of President of the Soviet Union, the Union republics also began to introduce the post of President. To do this, a referendum was held in the Russian SFSR, in which 71% of voters voted for the creation of the post of President, elected in direct elections. On 12 June 1991 Yeltsin was elected president of the Russian SFSR with 57% of the vote, becoming the first popularly elected president.[8] However, Yeltsin never recovered his popularity after a series of economic and political crises in Russia in the 1990s. The Yeltsin era was marked by widespread corruption, economic collapse, and enormous political and social problems.[8] By the time he left office, Yeltsin had an approval rating of two percent by some estimates.[8]
Throughout his presidential terms and into his second term as the prime minister, Vladimir Putin has enjoyed high approval ratings amongst the Russian public. During his eight years in office, the Russian economy bounced back from crisis, seeing the country's GDP increase sixfold (72% in PPP),[9] poverty cut more than half[10] and average monthly salaries increase from $80 to $640, or by 150% in real rates.[11] At the same time, his conduct in office has been questioned by domestic dissenters, as well as foreign governments and human rights organizations, for his handling of internal conflicts in Chechnya and Dagestan, his record on internal human rights and freedoms, his relations with former Soviet republics, and his relations with the so-called oligarchs: Russian businessmen with a high degree of power and influence within both the Russian government and economy. This was seen by the Kremlin as a series of anti-Russian propaganda attacks orchestrated by western opponents and exiled oligarchs.[12]
Medvedev was appointed as first deputy prime minister on 14 November 2005. Formerly Vladimir Putin's chief of staff, he was also the chairman of Gazprom's board of directors, a post he had held, for the second time, since 2000. On 10 December 2007, he was informally endorsed as a candidate for the forthcoming presidential elections by the most prominent Russian political party, United Russia, and officially endorsed on 17 December 2007. Medvedev's candidacy was supported by outgoing president Vladimir Putin and pro-presidential parties.[13] As technocrat and political appointee, Medvedev – Putin's former chief of staff and one-time rival to Sergey Ivanov – had never held elective office before 2009. Medvedev chose Putin as his prime minister; in 2012, Putin ran for the presidency, won, and appointed Medvedev as prime minister.
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Selection process
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Eligibility
A presidential candidate must be a citizen of the Russian Federation who is at least 35 years old, has permanently resided in Russia for at least 25 years and does not have and has never previously had foreign citizenship or a foreign residence permit.[14] Following constitutional amendments in 2020, the requirement of permanent residence in Russia increased from 10 years to 25 years and a new requirement preventing a presidential candidate from ever having foreign citizenship or a foreign residence permit was introduced.[15][16][17]
The Russian constitution limits the number of terms a president can serve to two terms. Previously, the constitution only limited the president to two consecutive terms, allowing a former president to seek re-election after sitting out one complete term.[18] However, following constitutional changes in 2020, this was changed to two terms overall, allowing the incumbent president and former presidents to serve two more terms.[19]
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The primary working president's residence is the Senate building (also known as 1st building) in the Moscow Kremlin complex.[37] Also the president can use the Grand Kremlin Palace (used for official ceremonies and meetings). Previously, the president also could use the so-called 14th Administrative Corpus Building (the reserve residence), but in 2016 it was demolished.[37]
Since 2000 the current home residence of the president is Novo-Ogaryovo (Russian: Ново-Огарёво). It was planned that it would remain at the disposal of Vladimir Putin after his term ended, as Gorki-9 (Russian: Горки-9) (also called Barvikha (Russian: Барвиха), but actually near it) had remained at the disposal of Boris Yeltsin after his retirement.
Also, the president has several vacation residences outside of Moscow.[38]
Political affiliation
None of the Russian presidents to date have ever been a member of a political party while in office. In 2012, commenting on stepping down from the post of United Russia party leader, Vladimir Putin said "The constitution doesn't forbid the president to be a member of any party, but in the spirit of how our political life has evolved, a president is first and foremost a consolidating figure for all the political forces of the country, for all citizens".[40]
Limousines
National transport services for the Russian president and the presidential state car are provided by the Special Purpose Garage (SPG).[41] The SPG is a unit within the Federal Protective Service.
Air transport services for the president are provided by the airline company Rossiya Airlines.[42]
The presidential aircraft uses the same colour scheme as standard Rossiya aircraft, except for the use of the Russian coat of arms or the presidential standard on the empennage instead of the flag of Russia.
In the spring of 2013 a helipad was constructed in the Moscow Kremlin. According to the chief of the Kremlin Property Agency construction of a helicopter pad for the president cost 200 million rubles (about $6.4 mln). The helipad is located in the Kremlin's Tainitsky Garden close to exterior walls.[43]
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On 16 August 1995, President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree "On some social guarantees of persons holding public positions of the Russian Federation and the position of federal public servants." 15 June 1999 went to President Yeltsin's decree on amendments and additions to the previous decree. On 11 November 1999 Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the implementation of the amended decree of 15 June 1999.
On 31 December 1999, the day of the resignation of Boris Yeltsin, the president issued a decree "On guarantees of the Russian Federation President, stop exercising their powers, and their family," and the eponymous federal law was adopted by 25 January 2001.
This law establishes the legal, social and other guarantees of the Russian Federation's president, stops the execution of its powers in connection with the expiration of their term of office or in advance in the event of their resignation or permanent incapacity for health reasons to exercise the powers belonging to them and their family:
Beginning in 1999, all living former presidents were granted a pension, an office, and a staff. The pension has increased numerous times. Retired presidents receive a pension based on the salary of the government. All former presidents, their spouses, and their children until age 16 are protected by the Federal Protective Service until the president's death. A spouse who remarries or divorced from president is no longer eligible for Federal Protective Service protection.
In 2020, the Constitution was amended to grant the former president immunity (except if they were removed from office by impeachment). This immunity may be lifted in the same manner as the impeachment procedure. Also, in accordance with the amendments, former presidents (except if they were removed from office by impeachment) were granted the right to become senators for life.[19]
In May 2008, the Federal law №68, "On centers of historical heritage of presidents of the Russian Federation ceased to carry out its powers", was adopted.[44] According to this law, the objectives of the centers are the study and public presentation of historical heritage of presidents of Russia as an integral part of the modern history of Russia, the development of democratic institutions and the rule of law. The centers will be built for each former president of Russia. The first such center dedicated to Boris Yeltsin was opened in 2015 in Yekaterinburg. In the future the creation of presidential centers for Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev is also planned.[45]