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On the Status of the President

The office of the President of the Russian Federation is the highest state position in Russia.

According to the Constitution, the President is the guarantor of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and also of the rights and freedoms of the citizens, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

The office of the President of Russia (originally, the office of the President of the Russian Federative Socialist Republic) was founded in 1991 as the office of the head of one of the union republics of the USSR — RSFSR – based on the expression of will of the people during the Referendum on March 17th, 1991.

Over almost twenty years of democracy in Russia, the country saw three Presidents.

Russian presidents

The first one, Boris Yeltsin, was President of Russia from 1991 to 1999, two presidential terms, and he led the effort to draft the Constitution of 1993.

Vladimir Putin who also was elected President thrice – in 2000, 2004 and 2012 — became the second President of Russia.

Dmitry Medvedev became the third President and was elected to this office by popular vote on March 2nd, 2008.

In 2018, Vladimir Putin was once again elected President of the Russian Federation.

Electoral procedure and entering the office.

The first President of the Russian Federation was elected in 1991 for a five-year term. The Constitution of the Russian Federation as of 1993 reduced the presidential term to four years. However, under Section II (Concluding and Transitional Provisions), Article 3 of the constitution President Yeltsin remained in office until the term of office for which he was elected expired, i.e. up to 1996. In compliance with an amendment introduced into the constitution on December 31st, 2008 (Chapter 4, Article 81), starting from the 2012 Presidential Election, the President of the Russian Federation shall be elected for six years.

The President of the Russian Federation is elected for a four-year term by the citizens of the Russian Federation on the basis of general, equal and direct vote by secret ballot. A citizen of the Russian Federation not younger than 35, who has resided in the Russian Federation for no less than 10 years, may be elected President of the Russian Federation. No one person shall hold the office of the President of the Russian Federation for more than two terms in succession. The procedure for electing the President of the Russian Federation shall be determined by federal law.

At his inauguration the President of the Russian Federation shall take the following oath to the people:“I vow, in the performance of my powers as the President of the Russian Federation to respect and protect the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, to observe and protect the Constitution of the Russian Federation, to protect the sovereignty and independence, security and integrity of the state and to serve the people faithfully.”

The oath shall be taken in a solemn atmosphere in the presence of members of the Council of the Federation, deputies of the State Duma, and judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

The President of the Russian Federation shall:

  • Appoint a Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation subject to consent of the State Duma;
  • have the right to preside over meetings of the Government of the Russian Federation;
  • decide on the resignation of the Government of the Russian Federation;
  • introduce to the State Duma a candidature for appointment to the office of the Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation; submit to the State Duma the proposal on relieving the Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation of his duties;
  • appoint and dismiss deputy chairmen of the Government of the Russian Federation and federal ministers as proposed by the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation;
  • submit to the Federation Council candidates for appointment to the office of judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation as well as the candidate for Prosecutor- General of the Russian Federation;
  • submit to the Federation Council the proposal on relieving the Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation of his duties;
  • appoint the judges of other federal courts;
  • form and head the Security Council of the Russian Federation, the status of which is determined by federal law;
  • endorse the military doctrine of the Russian Federation;
  • form the staff of the President of the Russian Federation;
  • appoint and dismiss plenipotentiary representatives of the President of the Russian Federation;
  • appoint and dismiss the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation;
  • In accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, these appointments can be made by the President after consultations with the corresponding committees or commissions of the chambers of the Federal Assembly;
  • Calls elections to the chambers of the State Duma in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal law;
  • Dissolves the State Duma in cases and under procedures envisaged by the Constitution of the Russian Federation;
  • Calls a referendum under procedures established by federal constitutional law;
  • Introduces draft laws in the State Duma;
  • Signs and publishes federal laws within fourteen days from the moment of receipt. If the President rejects a federal law within 14 days of its receipt, then the State Duma and the Federation Council shall re-examine the law in accordance with the procedure established by the Constitution. If, during the second consideration, the federal law is approved in the earlier version by the majority of no less than two-thirds of votes of the total number of the Federation Council members and deputies of the State Duma, it shall be signed by the president of the Russian Federation within seven days and published;
  • presents annual messages to the Federal Assembly on the situation in the country and on basic directions of the internal and external policies of the state.
  • The President of the Russian Federation may use dispute-settlement procedures to settle differences between organs of state power of the Russian Federation and organs of state power of the subjects of the Russian Federation, and also between organs of state power of the subjects of the Russian Federation. If no decision is agreed upon, he may turn the dispute over for review by the respective court of law.
  • The President of the Russian Federation shall have the right to suspend acts by organs of executive power of the subjects of the Russian Federation;
  • supervises the conduct of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation;
  • conducts negotiations and signs international treaties of the Russian Federation;
  • signs instruments of ratification;
  • accept credentials and instruments of recall of diplomatic representatives accredited with him.
  • In the event of aggression against the Russian Federation or an immediate threat thereof, the President of the Russian Federation shall introduce martial law on the territory of the Russian Federation or in areas thereof with immediate notification thereof of the Federation Council and the State Duma;
  • resolves issues of citizenship of the Russian Federation and of granting political asylum;
  • awards state decorations of the Russian Federation, confer honourary titles of the Russian Federation and top military ranks and top specialized titles;
  • grants pardons;

In the course of fulfillment of his authority, the President of the Russian Federation issues decrees and executive orders, which are binding throughout the territory of the Russian Federation. The decrees and orders of the President of the Russian Federation may not contravene the Constitution of the Russian Federation or federal laws.

Insignia of the President of the Russian Federation

The Special Copy of the Constitution of the Russian Federation

The Special Copy of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is an exclusive single copy of the official text of the Constitution of the Russian Federation as of 1993 in its present legally binding edition with a red Varanus skin cover. The front cover is decorated with the Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation on a silver plate and a gilded inscription, the “Constitution of the Russian Federation”. The Special Copy of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is permanently kept in the Presidential Library (rotunda of the second floor of the northeastern wing of the Kremlin Senate); it is moved from the library only when a new President of the Russian Federation is sworn into office.

The Emblem of the President of the Russian Federation

The Emblem of the President of the Russian Federation is the symbol of the presidential power in Russia. It was instituted by the Decree No. 1138 of President Yeltsin of August 5th, 1996 and consists of the Emblem and the chain of the Emblem. Actually the Emblem is a symbolical copy of the Order of Service to the Fatherland 1st Class and is shaped as a golden cross with equal arms, which widen to the ends and are ruby enameled from the right side. The distance between the ends of the cross arms is 60 mm. Along the edges of the cross there is a narrow prominent welt. On the reverse side of the cross in the middle there is a round medallion with the motto “Good, Honour, and Glory” along the circle. In the centre of the medallion there is the year it was made — 1994. In the lower part of the medallion there is an image of laurel branches. The Emblem joins to its chain by a wreath of laurel branches.

The Standard of the President of the Russian Federation

The Standard of the President of Russia consists of a rectangular cloth of three equal horizontal stripes: white at the top, blue in the middle, and red at the bottom (colours of the State Flag of Russia). The gold depiction of the State Emblem of Russia is in the center. The cloth is flanked by golden fringe. The staff of the Standard carries a silver staple with the engraved family name, given name, and patronymic of the Russian President and the dates of his term in office. The staff is topped with a metal spire. The original standard is kept in the office in the presidential residence in Moscow, the capital of the Russian Federation (the Senate Palace of the Moscow Kremlin). During the official ceremony of taking office by President-elect of the Russian Federation the original standard is placed beside the head of the state.

The Standard and the Emblem are transferred to the newly elected President during the inauguration procedure for the period of his stay in office after oath bringing on the special copy of the Constitution.

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