The Constitutional Court of Russia is one of two highest courts in court system of the Russian Federation. It is composed of eleven Judges of the Constitutional Court (), with one of them being the 'President of the Court' () and one being Deputy President of the Court (). The exact number of the Judges of the Constitutional Court is determined by article 125 of the Constitution of Russia.

By article 9 of the Federal Constitutional Law "On the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation", the Federation Council shall consider the question of the appointment of the Judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation in no event later than fourteen days after the receipt of the submission of the President of the Russian Federation. Proposals regarding candidates for offices of Judges of the Constitutional Court may be introduced to the President by Senators and by deputies of the State Duma, as well as by legislative bodies of federal subjects of Russia, supreme judicial bodies and federal legal departments, all-Russia law associations, legal research and educational institutions.

According to article 8 of the Federal Constitutional Law "On the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation", in order to become a Judge of the Constitutional Court a person must be a citizen of Russia, at least 40 years of age, have legal education, have served as a lawyer for at least 15 years and have "recognized high qualification" in law.

Term length and number of judges

The rules for the term of office of a judge of the Constitutional Court have differed in various versions of the Constitutional Court Law.

The RSFSR Law "On the Constitutional Court of the RSFSR" settled the number of 15 judges, all appointed by the Congress of People's Deputies of Russia without an exact tenure, but with an age limit of 65. The law mentioned positions of Court President, Deputy President, and Judge-Secretary.

The 1993 Constitution of Russia originally settled 19 judges of the Constitutional Court, all appointed by the Federation Council with President's nomination. Between 1993 and 1994, the legislation did not include any specific term length beside the age limit.

The first version of the Federal Constitutional Law "On the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation", approved in 1994, determined the term length to be 12 years, and age limit to be 70. The judges would elect Court President, Deputy President, and Judge-Secretary from among themselves, for a term of 3 years (renewable).

The 2001 amendments increased the term length from 12 to 15 years and completely dismissed the age limit. In the end of the same year, the age limit of 70 was restored.

In 2005, the tenure length was dismissed.

In 2009, the position of Judge-Secretary was dismissed, and position of the second Deputy President was established. The new term of office for all judges was then 6 years long.

Since 2010, the President of the Constitutional Court has been exempted from the age limit of 70.

Since 2018, the age limit for the Deputy President of the Constitutional Court has been increased to 76 years old.

The 2020 amendments to the Constitution of Russia decreased the number of judges from 19 to 11 and abolished the position of the second Deputy President of the Court.

Current Judges Below table is list of current Judges of the Constitutional Court of Russia.

NameTenure / Current LengthNominated byPrevious servicebefore court appointmentEducationValery Zorkin(b. 1943)President / Congress of People's Deputies of RussiaProfessor of Constitutional Law at the Higher Correspondence School of Law of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (1986–1991)Moscow State UniversityAleksandr Konovalov(b. 1968)Deputy President / Vladimir Putin Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Constitutional Court (2020–2025) Saint Petersburg State UniversitySergey Knyazev(b. 1959) / Dmitry MedvedevChair of the Election Commission of Primorsky Krai (1995–2008)Far Eastern State UniversityAleksandr Kokotov(b. 1961) / Dmitry MedvedevHead of Constitutional Law Department of the Ural State Law University (1998–2010)Ural State Law University Andrey Bushev(b. 1966) / Vladimir PutinAssociate Professor of Commercial Law at the Saint Petersburg State University (since 2000), arbitrator of the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (2000–2022)Saint Petersburg State UniversityVladimir Sivitsky(b. 1974) / Vladimir Putin Head of the Constitutional and Administrative Law Department of the HSE campus in Saint Petersburg (2008–2023), Head of the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court (2015–2023)Moscow State UniversityMikhail Lobov(b. 1971) / Vladimir Putin Judge of the European Court of Human Rights (2022) Moscow State Institute of International RelationsKonstantin Kalinovsky(b. 1971) / Vladimir Putin Head of Criminal Procedure Department of the Russian State University of Justice (2013–2025) Saint Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of RussiaYevgeny Taribo(b. 1976) / Vladimir Putin Head of the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court (2023–2025) Ural State Law UniversityVictoria Korobchenko(b. 1975) / Vladimir Putin Head of the Department of Constitutional Foundations of Labour Legislation and Social Protection of the Constitutional Court (2025–2026) Saint Petersburg State University

Former Judges Resigned.   Died in office.NameTenureNominated byPrevious servicebefore court appointmentEducationErnest Ametistov(1934–1998) 30 October 1991 – 7 September 1998 ()Congress of People's Deputies of RussiaLeading research fellow at the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Soviet Legislation (1976–1991)Moscow State UniversityVladimir Oleynik(1936–1999) 30 October 1991 – 17 February 1999 ()Congress of People's Deputies of RussiaMember of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union (1990–1991)Perm State UniversityNikolay Vedernikov(b. 1934) 30 October 1991 – 16 February 2000 ()Congress of People's Deputies of RussiaMember of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union (1990–1991)Tomsk State UniversityTamara Morshchakova(b. 1936)Deputy President in 1995–2002 30 October 1991 – 29 March 2002 ()Congress of People's Deputies of RussiaChief research fellow at the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Soviet Legislation (1985–1991)Moscow State UniversityOleg Tiunov(1937–2017) 30 October 1991 – 12 February 2003 ()Congress of People's Deputies of RussiaMember of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union (1990–1991)Perm State UniversityNikolay Vitruk(1937–2012)Deputy President in 1991–1995, Acting President in 1993–1995 30 October 1991 – 12 February 2003 ()Congress of People's Deputies of RussiaHead of the Public Law Disciplines Department at the Higher Correspondence School of Law of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (1984–1991)Tomsk State UniversityViktor Luchin(1939–2021) 30 October 1991 – 25 February 2005 ()Congress of People's Deputies of RussiaAssociate Professor of State-Building and Legal Policy at the Russian Social Political Institute (1989–1991)Voronezh State UniversityBoris Ebzeyev(1950–2026) 30 October 1991 – 4 September 2008 ()Congress of People's Deputies of RussiaProfessor of Constitutional Law at the Saratov State Academy of Law (1989–1991)Saratov State Academy of LawAnatoly Kononov(1947–2022) 30 October 1991 – 1 January 2010 ()Congress of People's Deputies of RussiaMember of the Supreme Soviet of Russia (1990–1991)Moscow State UniversityNikolay Seleznev(1945–2021)Judge-Secretary in 1998–2001 30 October 1991 – 31 May 2015 ()Congress of People's Deputies of RussiaMember of the Supreme Soviet of Russia (1990–1991)Yaroslavl State UniversityYury Rudkin(b. 1951)Judge-Secretary in 1991–1998 30 October 1991 – 30 November 2021 ()Congress of People's Deputies of RussiaProsecutor of Kemerovo Oblast (1986–1991)Ural State Law UniversityGadis Gadzhiev(b. 1953) 30 October 1991 – 31 August 2023 ()Congress of People's Deputies of RussiaMember of the Supreme Soviet of the Dagestan ASSR (1990–1991)Moscow State UniversityVladimir Tumanov(1926–2011)President in 1995–1997 25 October 1994 – 11 June 1997 ()Boris YeltsinMember of the State Duma (1993–1994)Institute of Foreign TradeOlga Khokhryakova(1949–2019)Deputy President in 2008–2019 25 October 1994 – 31 July 2019 ()Boris YeltsinResearch fellow at the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of Russia (1976–1994)Ural State Law UniversityVladimir Yaroslavtsev(b. 1952) 25 October 1994 – 31 March 2022 ()Boris YeltsinJudge of the Saint Petersburg City Court (1985–1994)Saint Petersburg State UniversityYury Danilov(b. 1950)Judge-Secretary in 2001–2009 15 November 1994 – 31 August 2020 ()Boris YeltsinDeputy Chair of the State Antimonopoly Committee (1993–1994)Voronezh State UniversityVladimir Strekozov(1940–2017)Deputy President in 2002–2008 6 December 1994 – 6 July 2010 ()Boris YeltsinProfessor of Constitutional Law at the Military Academy of Economics, Finance, and Law (1993–1994)Lenin Military-Political AcademyMarat Baglai(1931–2024)President in 1997–2003 7 February 1995 – 21 February 2003 ()Boris YeltsinProfessor of Constitutional Law at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (1977–1995)Rostov State UniversityLyudmila Zharkova(b. 1955)Deputy President in 2025–2026 11 June 1997 – 30 September 2026 ()Boris YeltsinJudge of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Karelia (1994–1997)Saint Petersburg State UniversityAnatoly Sliva(b. 1940) 14 October 1998 – 18 March 2010 ()Boris YeltsinPresidential Plenipotentiary Representative to the Federation Council (1996–1998)Moscow State UniversityGennady Zhilin(1946–2025) 18 May 1999 – 31 August 2016 ()Boris YeltsinJudge of the Supreme Court of Russia (1989–1999)Ural State Law UniversityNikolay Bondar(b. 1950) 16 February 2000 – 31 October 2020 ()Vladimir PutinDean of the Institute of Law and Management of Rostov State University (1997–2000)Rostov State UniversitySergey Kazantsev(b. 1955)29 March 2002 – 28 February 2025 ()Vladimir PutinAssociate Professor of Legal Theory and History at the Saint Petersburg State University (1995–2002)Saint Petersburg State UniversityMikhail Kleandrov(b. 1946) 12 February 2003 – 31 August 2016 ()Vladimir PutinChief Judge of the Court of Arbitration of Tyumen Oblast (1995–2003)Tajik State UniversityLarisa Krasavchikova(b. 1955) 12 February 2003 – 31 March 2025 ()Vladimir PutinProfessor of Civil Law at the Ural State Law University (1995–2003)Ural State Law UniversitySergey Mavrin(1951–2025)Deputy President in 2009-2025 25 February 2005 – 1 April 2025 ()Vladimir PutinHead of Labour Law Department of Saint Petersburg State University (1992–2005)Saint Petersburg State UniversityNikolay Melnikov(b. 1955)25 February 2005 – 31 May 2025 ()Vladimir PutinProsecutor of the Republic of Sakha (2003–2005)Rostov State University]Konstantin Aranovsky(b. 1964) 3 March 2010 – 27 September 2022 ()Dmitry MedvedevChair of the Election Commission of Primorsky Krai (2008–2010)Far Eastern State UniversityAlexander Boytsov(b. 1950) 14 July 2010 – 30 September 2020 ()Dmitry MedvedevProfessor of Criminal Law at the Saint Petersburg State University (1999–2010)Saint Petersburg State University

See also Judiciary of Russia Constitutional Court of Russia President of the Constitutional Court of Russia Lists of supreme court justices

Notes and references