What Is the Russian Political System?

The Russian Federation is the largest nation by land mass on the planet. Its predecessors ruled through totalitarianism, but today the country has democratic elections, although the specter of autocracy still lingers.

Birth of the Federation

Until its collapse, the Soviet Union was theoretically a federation of socialist republics, the largest of which was Russia, which continued the practice by creating a federated state among 84 territories.

Russian Presidency

The Russian presidency is designed to play an active role in foreign affairs and the passage of laws, although the position is also supposed to be above political factions.

Federal Assembly

The Russian Legislature, known as the Federal Assembly, is broken up between the lower house, known as the Duma, and the upper house, known as the Federation Council. Voters choose parties, who then select 450 members of the Duma based on percentages of the national vote. The territorial legislatures nominate two members each to the Federation Council.

Prime Minister

Between the president and the Federal Assembly is the prime minister, who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the government as well as providing advice to the president. The position is appointed by the president and ratified by the Federal Assembly.

Criticism

Western governments have criticized the Russian system recently for not holding free elections as well as stifling free speech, creating a de facto dictatorship.

References

• Der Spiegel
• "Federalism and the Dictatorship of Power in Russia"; Mikhail Venediktovich Stoliarov; 2003
• Russian Constitution

Resources

• Russiaprofile.org