# Russian Government The Russian Federation is nominally a federal semi-presidential republic with a constitution (adopted 1993) that divides power among a president, a bicameral parliament (the Federal Assembly), and a judiciary. In practice, under [[Vladimir Putin]]'s rule since 1999, Russia has evolved into a centralized authoritarian system where the presidency dominates all other institutions, the parliament functions as a rubber stamp, the judiciary serves state interests, and political opposition is systematically suppressed through legal harassment, imprisonment, and assassination. ## Structure The **President** is the head of state and the dominant figure in Russian politics, serving as commander-in-chief, appointing the prime minister and government, issuing binding decrees, and controlling foreign and security policy. The 2020 constitutional amendments (sponsored by [[Valentina Tereshkova]]) "zeroed out" Putin's previous terms, enabling him to remain president until potentially 2036. The **Federal Assembly** (parliament) consists of two chambers: the [[State Duma]] (lower house, 450 seats, elected by mixed system) and the [[Federation Council]] (upper house, 170 members, appointed/delegated by regions). Both chambers are dominated by [[United Russia]], Putin's ruling party, and opposition parties that hold seats (Communist Party, LDPR, A Just Russia) function within boundaries acceptable to the Kremlin — a system sometimes called "managed democracy" or "systemic opposition." The **Prime Minister** heads the government (cabinet) and manages domestic economic policy, but serves at the president's pleasure and can be dismissed at any time. The position has been used strategically — most notably during Putin's 2008–2012 term-limit workaround, when [[Dmitry Medvedev]] served as president while Putin served as prime minister, maintaining effective control. ## The "power vertical" Putin's system is organized around what Russian political analysts call the "vertical of power" (*vertikal vlasti*) — a top-down command structure where authority flows from the president through appointed governors, state media, security services (FSB, SVR, GRU), and state-controlled economic entities (Gazprom, Rosneft, Rostec). The key figures in this system — [[Sergey Lavrov]] at Foreign Affairs, [[Nikolai Patrushev]] in the Security Council, [[Sergei Shoigu]] formerly at Defense — are appointed by and accountable only to Putin. ## KB significance The Russian government structure matters for the vault because understanding it is essential to analyzing Russian influence operations, foreign policy, and the geopolitical dynamics the vault tracks across multiple domains (Ukraine war, NATO expansion, energy policy, election interference, relationships with the American right). The gap between Russia's constitutional framework (which looks democratic on paper) and its operational reality (which is authoritarian) is itself a case study in how institutional forms can be hollowed out while maintaining legitimacy — a pattern the vault tracks in American contexts through [[Democratic Backsliding]] and related coverage. ## See Also - [[Vladimir Putin]] — the system's architect - [[Putinism]] — the ideology - [[State Duma]] — the lower house - [[Federation Council]] — the upper house - [[United Russia]] — the ruling party - [[Sergey Lavrov]] — foreign policy - [[Dmitry Medvedev]] — the placeholder president, now Security Council deputy