President of Russia

Infobox Political post
post = President
body = the
Russian Federation
insignia = Standard of the President of the Russian Federation.svg!border
insigniasize = 100px
insigniacaption = Official Standard


incumbent = Dmitry Medvedev
incumbentsince = May 7 2008
style =
appointer = Direct popular vote
termlength = Four years, renewable once,
consecutively
formation = July 10 1991
inaugural = CPD of RSFSR (April 4 1991) [http://www.gorby.ru/rubrs.asp?rubr_id=176&page=5 Gorbachev's Foundation. Chronicles of Perestroika. 1991] ]
website = ru icon [http://kremlin.ru/ kremlin.ru/] en icon [http://kremlin.ru/eng/ kremlin.ru/eng/] The President of Russia ( _ru. Президент России) or the President of the Russian Federation, _ru. Президент Российской Федерации) (before December 25 1991: President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic _ru. Президент Российской Советской Федеративной Социалистической Республики) is the Head of State, Supreme Commander-in-Chief and highest office within the Government of Russia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the Head of Government.

History of office

The office was instituted as the President of the RSFSR by the third Special Congress of People's Deputies of RSFSR on April 4 1991. This was only possible following the reforms of the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev who had become first and only President of the Soviet Union one year earlier, on March 15 1990. The respective revisions in the Constitution of the RSFSR (accepted in 1978) were introduced on May 24 1991 [ [http://constitution.garant.ru/DOC_83124.htm Law of the RSFSR of May 24, 1991 "On revisions additions of the Constitution of RSFSR"] ] . The same law also introduced the office of Vice-president of the RSFSR. According to the 1991 law the President and the Vice-president were to be elected together by a direct popular vote for a five-year term.

The first and only President and Vice-President of the RSFSR were Boris Yeltsin and Aleksandr Rutskoy. They were elected on June 12 1991 and came into power on July 10. On December 25 1991 with the reorganization of the RSFSR into an independent Russian Federation they became the first President and Vice-President of the Russian Federation.

During the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993 Vice-president Rutskoy was acting "in opposition" and from 22 September 1993 until 4 October 1993 had proclaimed himself as President. The new (and current) Constitution of the Russian Federation (accepted in 1993 after the crisis) no longer includes the office of Vice-president and reduces the presidential term to four years.Constitution of the Russian Federation. [http://www.russianembassy.org/RUSSIA/CONSTIT/chapter4.htm Chapter 4] ]

Yeltsin was re-elected for a second term in the second ballot on July 3 1996 (the first ballot was on June 16) and inaugurated on August 9. Yeltsin resigned from the office on December 31 1999 putting Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as acting president.

The second President of Russia was Vladimir Putinndash he was elected for a first term on March 26 2000 (inaugurated on May 7) and re-elected for a second term on March 14 2004 (inaugurated on May 7).

The third and current President of Russia is Dmitry Medvedevndash he was elected on 2 March 2008 and inaugurated on May 7.

Requirements to hold office

According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, a person willing to run for presidency has to be a citizen of Russia not younger than 35, who has permanently resided in the Russian Federation for not less than 10 years.

The Constitution of Russia also restricts the period during which a person can hold the office of the President to two consecutive terms. There is no limit to total terms that a President may be served, just a limit on successive terms.

Rights and duties

* The President shall be the head of state and the guarantor of the Constitution and of civil and human rights and liberties. He shall take measures to protect the sovereignty of the Russian Federation, its independence and integrity, and to ensure the concerted functioning and interaction of all bodies of state power.

* The President shall define the basic domestic policy guidelines of the state.

* The President shall define the basic foreign policy guidelines of the state.

* The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

* The President shall resolve issues of citizenship of the Russian Federation, award state decorations, and grant pardons.

The president's rights and duties are defined in the chapter 4 of the Constitution.

Insignia

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" (Russian: «Польза, честь и слава»; "Pol’za, chest’ i slava") appear in a form of a circle. A golden wreath is used to connect the cross with the rest of the chain. There are seventeen "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 podium. According to the Presidential website, the emblem is placed inside the Kremlin and is used only on certain occasions.

tandard (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 traveling in a vehicle inside Russia. A 2:3 ratio version of the flag is used when the President is at sea. This is the mostly used symbol to denote the presence of the Russian President.

pecial Copy of the 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, which is located inside the Kremlin.

Legal Basis of the Insignia

These insignia and the procedure were established by the presidential decree No. 1138 from August 5, 1996. [Coбpaниe зaкoнoдaтeльcтвa Рoccийcкoй Фeдepaции 1996, No. 33, ar. 3976] and modified by decree No. 832 from May 6, 2000. [Coбpaниe зaкoнoдaтeльcтвa Рoccийcкoй Фeдepaции 2000, No. 19, ar. 2068] 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.

Oath of Office

Each person who has been elected to this office takes this oath during their inauguration:

Residences

The primary working President's residence is the Senate building (also known as 1st building) in the Moscow Kremlin complex [http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/articles/atributesEng09.shtml The Presidential Residences] en icon] . Also the President can use the Great Kremlin Palace (the ceremonial residence) and so called 14th building (the reserve residence).

The current (since 2000) home President's residence is "Novo-Ogaryovo" ( _ru. Ново-Огарёво). It is planned that it will have remained at the disposal of Putin after the term ending, as "Gorki-9" ( _ru. Горки-9) (also called "Barvikha" ( _ru. 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 [ [http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=740687 Vladimir Putin Residences // Kommersant, #18(3594), Feb.07 2007] ] .
* "Rus" ( _ru. Русь), Zavidovo, Tver Oblast
* "Congress Palace" or "Constantine Palace" complex ( _ru. Дворец конгрессов, Константиновский дворец), Strelna, Leningrad Oblast, reconstructed for 300th Saint-Petersburg anniversary
* "Bocharov Ruchey" ( _ru. Боча́ров Руче́й), Sochi
* "Shuyskaya Chupa" ( _ru. Шу́йская Чупа́) at a distance of 25 km from Petrozavodsk, Karelia
* "Uzhin" ( _ru. Ужи́н ) at a distance of 20 km from Valday, Novgorod Oblast
* "Volzhskiy Utyos" sanatorium ( _ru. Во́лжский утёс) on Kuybyshev Reservoir shore
* "Tantal" tourist centre ( _ru. Танта́л, lit. Tantalum) on Volga bank, at a distance of 25 km from Saratov
* "Sosny" ( _ru. Со́сны, lit. pines) on Yenisei bank, near Krasnoyarsk
* "Angarskie hutora" ( _ru. Анга́рские хутора́) at a distance of 47 km from Irkutsk
* "Maly istok" ( _ru. Ма́лый исто́к) inside Ekaterineburg forestry

Political affiliation

Though technically the President of Russia may be a member of a political party, traditionally the President is nonpartisan and without political affiliation. He does support a specific party during parliamentary elections in order to promote his agendas and goals. He tends to be above the political spectrum and to act as a statesman, who reconciles and balances between the various political groups while not identifying with any one of them particularly.

Transport

The land transport services for the Russian President is provided by the Special Purpose Garage (SPG) [ [http://www.kremlin.ru/articles/atributes13.shtml President's transports. Cars] ru icon] . The SPG is a unit within the Federal Protective Service.
* Limousines
** flagicon|Russia ZIL
** flagicon|Germany Mercedes
* Escort cars
** flagicon|Germany Mercedes (including G-Wagens)
** flagicon|United States Chevrolet
*Honorary escort (motorcycles)
** flagicon|Russia Ural
** flagicon|Germany BMW

The avia transport services for the President is provided by airline company Rossiya [ [http://www.kremlin.ru/articles/atributes14.shtml President's transports. Air transport] ru icon] .
* Airplanes Long distance flight
** flagicon|Russia Il-96-300 (long-range) - main President's aircraft
** flagicon|Russia Il-62M (long-range)
** flagicon|Russia Tu-154 (medium-range)
** flagicon|Russia Yak-40 (short-range)
* Helicopters
** flagicon|Russia Mi-8

The President's aircraft use the same color scheme as standard Rossiya aircraft, except for the use of the Russian coat of arms or the Presidential Standard on the empennage instead flag of Russia.

See also

* List of presidents of the Russian Federation
* Russian presidential administration
* List of leaders of Russia

References

External links

* [http://kremlin.ru/eng/ Official site of the President of Russia]
* [http://www.russianembassy.org/RUSSIA/CONSTIT/ The Constitution of Russian federation (1993)] (in English)