Learn what type of government Russia has. Explore Russian government structure, Russian government history, and the Russian government system.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Russia's Political System | History & Government Structure
Table of Contents
- Russia's Political System
- Russian Government History
- What Type of Government Does Russia Have?
- Vladimir Putin
- Lesson Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Russia a republic?
Russia is a federal republic with a semi-presidential system of government. Yet, elections in Russia do not meet democratic standards, hence it hardly can be called a democratic republic.
Does Russia have a president?
Yes, Russian president, currently Vladimir Putin, is head of state and shares executive power with prime minister, currently Mikhail Mishustin.
What kind of government does Russia have right now?
Formally, Russia has a democratic semi-presidential form of government. There is a president elected by voters and a prime minister responsible to the legislature who share executive power, although the president is more powerful. In practice, politics in Russia fall short of democratic standards.
Is Russia a two-party system?
No, Russia does not have a two-party system. Russia has a dominant party system with United Russia, a party supporting president Putin, winning legislative elections with large majorities. However, elections in Russia are not free and fair and United Russia enjoys all types of unfair advantages.
Is Russia a free country?
The independent organization Freedom House, which ranks countries on the degree of freedom, gave Russia a score of 20/100 and classified it as not free. Although opposition remains legal, there are various restrictions on civil liberties and opposition activity in Russia. Still, Russia is freer than some more closed autocracies such as China, Saudi Arabia, or Iran.
Table of Contents
- Russia's Political System
- Russian Government History
- What Type of Government Does Russia Have?
- Vladimir Putin
- Lesson Summary
Russia is the largest country in the world, ninth largest in terms of population, with 146 million people distributed across eleven time zones. It is also an ethnically diverse country with Russians making up 81% of the population, and the remaining percentage composed of various native minorities. Politically, most people associate Russia with its president, Vladimir Putin. Putin has been in power since 2000 and he centralized political power in his hands so that the current political system is considered authoritarian. Still, Russian politics operates according to a formally democratic system and constitution creating a federal semi-presidential form of government.
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To understand Russian government history, one needs to start with the Soviet Union, a socialist one-party state and superpower that collapsed in 1991 and split into its fifteen constituent republics. The largest, with 51% of the population and 77% of the area, is Russia. Russia began its independence by creating a constitution with a presidential system of government, much like the one in the United States. The legislature and the president are elected separately and constrained to each other through a system of checks and balances. A relatively free legislative election was held in March 1990. In June 1991, Boris Yeltsin, a democratic reformer, was elected Russian president with 58% of the vote.
Although Yeltsin and the legislature initially cooperated, their relations grew increasingly acrimonious. The legislature opposed Yeltsin's program of economic reforms, which introduced capitalism into Russia, but at the cost of rapid decline in the standard of living. In September 1993, the president unconstitutionally dissolved the legislature, which responded by impeaching the president. The conflict was resolved by force when military units, loyal to Yeltsin, stormed the parliament, killed its defenders, and arrested parliamentary leaders. After the victory, Yeltsin forced through a new constitution which increased the power of the presidency and diminished the powers of the legislature. It was accepted in a referendum in December 1993 and is currently in force. The same month, new parliamentary election was held.
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Russia's Political System | History & Government Structure
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