Russian politics is laid out in a framework where the country is led
by the President along with the Prime Minister and his ministers.
The country is governed by the Constitution of Russian Federation.
Constitution of Russia
A national referendum brought the present
Constitution which was adopted on December 12, 1993.
On December 25, 1993 the Constitution was
officially published and it came into force.
Article 11 of the Constitution states that the subjects of state power are:
The President of the Russian Federation
The Government of the Russian Federation
The Federal Assembly (The Federation Council and The State Duma)
Courts of the Russian Federation
President of Russia
Russia elects her President through direct suffrage by secret ballot.
An individual can hold the position of the President for two consecutive terms only.
The President’s term lasts for six years.
The Constitution of Russian Federation
appoints the President as the head of state.
He is responsible for setting all domestic and foreign policies and
will represent Russia at for internal and international affairs.
The President is also responsible to protect the
rights and freedom of the Russian citizens.
He is the “Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Russian Federation”
and can take all necessary measures to protect the independence of Russia.
The President also holds power to dissolve the State Duma.
Articles 82-93 of the Constitution define the responsibilities, powers
and limitations of the President of Russian Federation in detail.
If the President fails to fulfil the duties
towards the nation the post shall be temporarily
deputized to the Prime Minister who will then become
the Acting President of the Russian Federation.
A Prime Minister can also assume the role provisionally when the
President is undergoing health problems such as a surgery etc.
The President then resumes back his duties once he if fit.
Current President of Russia
The most recent Presidential elections took place on March 18, 2018.
Vladimir Putin won the elections retaining his position as the
President of Russian Federation for the second time consecutively.
Vladimir Putin has also held the office of President twice earlier from
the year 2000 to 2008 when the Presidential term was for four years.
The Government of Russian Federation
The executive power of the Russian Federation
is held by the Government of Russia.
The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers and the
Federal Ministers are the members of the government.
Some of the responsibilities of the Russian government include drafting and
implementation of the nation’s budget, management of federal property,
implementation of laws and public order, implementation of foreign
policy, implementation of a uniform financial and monetary policy etc.
Current Prime Minister of Russian Federation
Dmitry Medvedev holds the office of Prime Minister in Russia.
He has been serving the Russian Federation as the Prime Minister since 2012.
He is considered as the second most popular politician in Russia after Vladimir Putin.
The Federal Assembly
According to the Russian Constitution the Federal Assembly
is the national legislature of the Russian Federation.
It comprises of – The Federation Council known as the Upper House
and The State Duma which is referred to as the Lower House.
The Federation Council or Upper House
The office of the Federation Council is situated in Moscow.
The Chairman of the Federation Council is the next
most important person after the Prime Minister.
Valentina Matviyenko holds the position as the
Chairman of Federation Council currently.
In situations where both the President and Prime Minister fail to do
their jobs he/she becomes the Acting President of Russian President.
The main duties of the council comprise of impeachment of the
President, appointing all the judges of Russian High Courts,
approving the decree of President on introduction of
Emergency in the State or introduction of Martial Law,
giving decisions on possible use of Russian Armed
Forces beyond the Russian boundaries, appointing
or discharging the Deputy Chairman and half the
auditors of the all Accounting Chamber etc.
The State Duma or Lower House
The State Duma office is also located in Moscow.
The members of the State Duma are known as deputies
and are led by the Chairman of the State Duma.
The current Chairman of the State Duma is Vyacheslav Volodin.
Some duties of the State Duma include appointing
or discharging the Commissioner of Human Rights,
appointing or discharging the Chairman and half the auditors of Accounting
Chamber, consents on the appointment of Chairman of the Government,
advances charges against the President for his impeachment,
decides the problems of confidence in the current government etc.
Courts of Russian Federation
The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is the last court of resort
within the Russian judiciary for civil, administrative and criminal cases.
The Supreme Court is also responsible for administering the
work of the lower courts operating in the Russian Federation.
The Russian President appoints the judges of the
Supreme Court and a judge must be a Russian citizen.
The Supreme Court comprises of the Judicial Panel for Criminal
Affairs, the Military Panel and the Judicial Panel for Civil Affairs.
Each panel is responsible for the respective
cases that fall in their area of jurisdiction.
The Russian Supreme court has the power to hear a case from the beginning (original
jurisdiction) and change the decisions of the lower courts (appellate jurisdiction).
The Supreme Court holds the power to terminate political parties and Russian
NGO’s, it can challenge the actions of Central Electoral Commission of Russia
while the Presidential Elections are being structured, it can also challenge the
legislation of government agencies, criminal
charges pressed against the federal judges,
State Duma and Russian Federation Council are also heard by the Supreme Court etc.
After an emergent opposition movement the media is
under strict observation of the Russian authorities.
The current President has embraced a vociferous
nationalist path and requested his people to the same.
Vladimir Putin is a powerful leader who has fished Russia out of the dangerous waters
of economic and political crisis which had been hovering the nation since the 1990’s.