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President of Russia

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President of the Russian Federation
Президент Российской Федерации
Standard of the President of the Russian Federation
since 7 May 2012
ResidenceKremlin Senate, Moscow
AppointerDirect popular vote
Term lengthSix years; renewable once consecutively
Inaugural holderBoris Yeltsin
Formation1991
  • 24 April 1991 (passage of presidency law[1])
  • 24 May 1991 (constitutional amendments[2])
  • 10 July 1991 (inauguration of the first President)
Modern status is defined by the Constitution of Russia, adopted on 12 December 1993
SuccessionPrime Minister of Russia
Salary3.6 million Rouble annually
WebsiteTemplate:Ru icon президент.рф
Template:En icon eng.kremlin.ru
Politics of Russia
Law
Presidency
Executive
Legislature
Federal Assembly
Judiciary
Elections
Federalism
Foreign relations
Related topics

The President of the Russian Federation (Russian: Президент Российской Федерации, Romanized: Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state, Supreme Commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Russian Federation. However, he is not the head of the executive branch. The Government of Russia is the highest organ of executive power.[3] The current president of Russia is Vladimir Putin.

In 1991 until 25 December of that year the office was briefly known as the President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian: Президент Российской Советской Федеративной Социалистической Республики).

In all cases where the President of the Russian Federation is unable to fulfil his (her) duties, they shall be temporarily delegated to the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, who becomes Acting President of Russia.[4] The Chairman of the Federation Council is the third important position after the President and the Prime Minister. In the case of incapacity of the President and Prime Minister, the chairman of the upper house of parliament becomes acting head of state.[5][6]

Selection process

Eligibility

The Constitution of Russia restricts the period during which a person can hold office as President to two consecutive terms (of six years each, which started in 2012). There is no limit to the total number of terms that a President may serve, just a limit on successive terms. A candidate for office must be a citizen of the Russian Federation of at least 35 years old, and 'permanently resided' in Russia for at least 10 years.[7]

Election

The election of the President is mainly regulated by the Presidential Election Law (PEL) and the Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights (BGL).[8]

The Federation Council calls the presidential elections.[9] If it does not call a presidential election that is due, the Central Election Commission will call the presidential election.[10] The Election Day is the second Sunday of the month and the presidential electoral constituency is the territory of the Russian Federation as a whole.

Each faction in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament has the right to nominate a candidate for the presidential elections. The minimum number of signatures for a presidential candidate fielded by a political party with no parliamentary representation is 100,000, down from 2 million before amendments to the law.[11]

The President is elected in a two-round system every six years, with a two consecutive term limitation.[12] Prior to 2012, the term of office was four years. If no candidate wins by an absolute majority in the first round, a second election round is held between two candidates with the most votes.[12] The last presidential election was in 2012, and the next is expected in 2018.[13]

Insignia

Chain of office
Presidential standard
Presidential standard afloat

After the oath of office has been taken by the elected president, these following insignia are handed over to the president. These devices are used to display the rank of his office and are used on special occasions.

Chain of office

The first insignia that is issued is the chain of office with an emblem. The central emblem is a red cross, with arms in equal size, charged with the Russian coat of arms. On the reverse of the cross, the words "Benefit, Honor and Glory" appear in the form of a circle. A golden wreath is used to connect the cross with the rest of the chain. There are 17 "links" in the emblem, with nine consisting of the Russian coat of arms. The other eight consist of a rosette, also bearing the motto "Benefit, Honor and Glory." At the inauguration of Vladimir Putin, the emblem was placed on a red pillow, positioned on the left side of the podium. According to the Presidential website, the emblem is placed inside the Kremlin and is used only on certain occasions.

Standard (flag)

The standard is a square version of the Russian flag, charged in the center with the Russian coat of arms. Golden fringe is added to the standard. Copies of the standard are used inside his office, at the Kremlin, other state agencies, and while the president is travelling in a vehicle inside Russia. A 2:3 ratio version of the flag is used when the President is at sea. This is the most used symbol to denote the presence of the Russian President.

Special copy of the Constitution

Vladimir Putin takes the Presidential Oath while placing his right hand on the Presidential copy of the Russian Constitution.

The President also has a special copy of the Russian Constitution that is used during the inauguration. This copy has a hard, red cover with gold lettering. An image of the Russian coat of arms appears in silver. The special copy is kept in the Presidential Library.

These insignia and the procedure were established by the presidential decree 1138 from 5 August 1996.[14] and modified by decree 832 from 6 May 2000.[15] In the new decree the special copy of the Constitution was removed as the third symbol of the Russian Presidency; the other two symbols remained intact because they were and are regulated by separate decrees. Nonetheless, the special copy of the Constitution still exists and serves for inauguration purposes only without being officially presented as a symbol of the Russian Presidency.

Powers and duties

Guarantor of the Constitution

As the guarantor of the Constitution and the entire system of constitutional law, the President ensures that the constitutions, laws and regulations of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation be in full compliance with the country’s Constitution and federal laws.

Nominations

The President is highly active in appointing top officials in the country. He nominates candidates for official state positions, who must ultimately be appointed based on parliamentary vote. The President submits nominations to the Federation Council, the upper house of the parliament, for judges of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitration Court, as well as for Prosecutor General of Russia. A proposal to relieve the Prosecutor General of his duties must also be submitted to the Federation Council. The President submits to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, nominations for appointment to the office of the Chairman of the Central Bank, and likewise submits to the State Duma any proposal to relieve the Chairman of the Central Bank of his duties.[16]

Legislation

Under the procedure stipulated by the Constitution, the President exercises his right to submit draft legislation, as well as the right to sign bills into law or to veto it.

The President has the right to suspend laws and regulations issued by executive bodies of Russia’s constituent territories if such laws and regulations contravene the Constitution, federal laws or international obligations of the Russian Federation, or violate human and civil rights and liberties, pending the resolution of the issue in an appropriate court.

The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves, and to convene and adjourn either or both houses of Congress under extraordinary circumstances.

Other powers of the President in the sphere of legal activities and in his interaction with the Parliament include calling elections to the State Duma, dissolving the State Duma in certain cases, and calling referendum.

Domestic policy

Under the Constitution, the President is not empowered to determine the full range of short-, middle-, and long-term objectives and targets of domestic policy, but only its basic guidelines. They are to be implemented both by the President himself and by the Government of Russia within the bounds of their authority. The President’ fundamental positions on domestic policy issues are expressed in his written decisions regarding draft federal constitutional laws and draft federal laws, as well as his letters explaining the reasons for rejecting draft federal laws.

Within the bounds of the authority granted to the head of state by the Constitution and other laws, the President also shapes the basic domestic policy guidelines by issuing legal regulations and through organizational and regulatory activity, such as issuing decrees and executive orders. Each year the President is required to make an Address to the Federal Assembly regarding the situation in the country and the internal and foreign policy of the state.

Foreign policy

The President is invested with extensive rights to implement the state's foreign policy. The President determines Russia's position in international affairs and represents the state in international relations, conducts negotiations and signs ratification documents. The President appoints and recall diplomatic representatives of the Russia to foreign states and international organizations. These appointments are preceded by consultations with the respective committees or commissions of the two houses of the Federal Assembly. The President signs international treaties.

Ceremonial duties

An important ceremonial role of the President is Awarding state awards. State Awards of the Russian Federation are the highest form of official recognition given to individuals for service to the nation in the fields of defense, state-building, economics, science, culture, art, education, health care, public safety, rights advocacy and charity. The state awards of the Russian Federation include the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation as well as orders, medals, emblems and honorary titles. New state honors and awards can be established by the President, who also presents these honors to the recipients in an official ceremony. A Commission for State Honors, which works on a voluntary basis, helps the President to objectively assess potential recipients.

Residences

The primary working President's residence is the Senate building (also known as 1st building) in the Moscow Kremlin complex.[17] Also the President can use the Grand Kremlin Palace (the ceremonial residence) and so called 14th building[17] (the reserve residence).

The current (since 2000) home President's residence is Novo-Ogaryovo (Russian: Ново-Огарёво). It is planned that it will have remained at the disposal of Vladimir Putin after the term ending, 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.[18]

Political affiliation

None of the Russian presidents to date were ever a member of a political party in office or later. 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".[19]

Transport

National transport services for the Russian President are provided by the Special Purpose Garage (SPG).[20] The SPG is a unit within the Federal Protective Service.

Ilyushin Il-96-300PU - The official Russian presidential aircraft

Air transport services for the President are provided by the airline company Rossiya.[21]

Main article: Russian presidential aircraft

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 costed 200 million rubles (about $6.4 mln). The helipad is located in the Kremlin's Tainitsky Garden close to exterior walls.[22]

List of presidents

Main article: List of presidents of Russia
Name Term of office Length of term
Boris Yeltsin 1991–1999 8 years, 174 days
Vladimir Putin (1st tenure) 2000–2008 8 years, 128 days
Dmitry Medvedev 2008–2012 4 years, 0 days
Vladimir Putin (2nd tenure) 2012– 12 years, 187 days

See also

References

  1. ^ RSFSR Law "On President of the Russian SFSR
  2. ^ RSFSR Law on amendments to the Constitution of the RSFSR
  3. ^ I.E. Kozlova and O. E. Kutafin, Konstitutsionnoe Pravo Rossii (Constitutional Law of Russia) (4th ed, 2006) p. 383
  4. ^ http://eng.constitution.kremlin.ru/#article-92-3
  5. ^ "Пост Председателя Совета Федерации РФ – это третий пост в стране. В случае недееспособности президента и премьера именно председатель верхней палаты парламента должен возглавить государство."
  6. ^ "Почему у нас третье лицо в государстве Председатель Совета Федерации? Потому что это федерация, он не распускается, он действует постоянно." - Сергей Шахрай
  7. ^ The Constitution of the Russian Federation : A Contextual Analysis, Henderson, Jane
  8. ^ Gueorguieva, Vassia; Simon, Rita James (2009). Voting and Elections the World Over. Global Perspectives on Social Issues Series. Lexington Books. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-7391-3090-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  9. ^ Constitution of Russia article 102:1
  10. ^ Kozlova and O. E. Kutafin, Konstitutsionnoe Pravo Rossii (Constitutional Law of Russia) (4th ed, 2006) p. 373.
  11. ^ "Medvedev Signs Off on Election, Party Signature Laws". RIA Novosti. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  12. ^ a b Gueorguieva & Simon 2009, p. 79.
  13. ^ Herszenhorn, David M. (5 March 2012). "Observers Detail Flaws in Russian Election". New York Times. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  14. ^ Coбpaниe зaкoнoдaтeльcтвa Рoccийcкoй Фeдepaции 1996, №33, ar. 3976
  15. ^ Coбpaниe зaкoнoдaтeльcтвa Рoccийcкoй Фeдepaции 2000, №19, ar. 2068
  16. ^ "Authority and Duties of the President"
  17. ^ a b The Presidential Residences Template:En icon
  18. ^ Vladimir Putin Residences, Kommersant, #18(3594), 7 February 2007
  19. ^ "Putin steps down as United Russia head"
  20. ^ President's transports. Cars Template:Ru icon
  21. ^ Archived 2008-04-23 at the Wayback Machine Template:Ru icon
  22. ^ "Putin's Kremlin Helipad Cost $6.4 Mln – Official". RIA Novosti. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
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