The office of the president of Russia is the highest authority in the Russian Federation. The holder is the federation's head of state and has formal presidency over the State Council as well as being the commander in chief of the Russian Armed Forces. The office was introduced in 1918 after the February Revolution with the current office emerging after a referendum of 1991. During the Soviet period of history, Russia was de jure headed by collective bodies such as the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, since the Soviet theory of government denied the very necessity of the presidential office. The office of the President of the Soviet Union was introduced in 1990 during Mikhail Gorbachev's unsuccessful reforms of the Soviet Union's one-party communist state. Gorbachev became first and last president of the Union. His tenure was marked by the legal and political confrontation with Russia and other republics of the USSR which eventually led to their full independence in late 1991.
Presidents
PortraitPresidentTerm of officeTermPrevious officePrime Minister 1Boris Yeltsin1931–2007 10 July 1991 – 31 December 1999(resigned from office)()1(1991) Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Russia(1990–1991)2(1996) 2Vladimir PutinВладимир ПутинBorn 1952(age ) 7 May 2000 – 7 May 2008()3(2000)Prime Minister of Russia(1999–2000)4(2004) 3Dmitry MedvedevBorn 1965(age ) 7 May 2008 – 7 May 2012()5(2008)First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia(2005–2008) (2)Vladimir PutinBorn 1952(age )7 May 2012 – Present()6(2012)Prime Minister of Russia(2008–2012)7(2018)8(2024)
Acting presidents
PortraitActing PresidentTerm of officeMain postNotesAlexander RutskoyBorn 1947(age ) 22 September – 4 October 1993 Vice President Acting president during the 1993 constitutional crisis.His powers were not recognized by Boris Yeltsin.Viktor Chernomyrdin1938–2010(aged 72) 5–6 November 1996 Prime Minister Acting president during Boris Yeltsin's heart surgery.Vladimir PutinBorn 1952(age ) 31 December 1999 – 7 May 2000 Acting president after Yeltsin's early resignation.
Timeline
Subsequent public service Two presidents held other high offices after leaving the presidency. PresidentPresidencySubsequent serviceVladimir Putin2000–2008Prime Minister (2008–2012)President (2012–present)Dmitry Medvedev2008–2012Prime Minister (2012–2020)Deputy Chairman of the Security Council (2020–present)
See also President of Russia List of leaders of Russia List of Russian monarchs (before 1917) List of heads of state of Russia (from 1917) Politics of Russia Government of Russia
Notes
References
External links Central Bank of Russia Energy Statistics for Russia – From the Energy Information Administration Federative Council—Official site of the parliamentary upper house
it:Presidenti della Federazione Russa la:Index praesidum Russiae