Who Holds the Power in Russia

President Vladimir Putin is the most powerful man in Russia. As a former mayor, head of the President’s Administrative Directorate, head of the Executive Office of the President, first deputy head of the Presidential Administration, director of the Federal Security Service, and Prime Minister, he has many years experience in the political arena (“President of Russia”). On December 31, 1999 he became acting President of Russia. He was first elected in March 2000 and was inaugurated as president on May 7, 2000 (“President of Russia”). He was re-elected in March 2004 with 71% of the vote (“Russia” Jurist).

Russia has had a very difficult time trying to embark on a journey towards democracy. The strict controls of the Communist period are embedded in the minds of the citizens and leaders, and it has proved difficult to overcome these obstacles. “While some progress has been made on the economic front, recent years have seen a recentralization of power under Vladimir Putin and the erosion of nascent democratic institutions (“Russia” The World Factbook).” The Russian constitution expressly allocates the federal government exclusive and absolute powers, but the “precise distribution of powers between the central government and the regional and local authorities is still evolving (“Russia” Jurist).”

As the current president, Putin is making the most of his powers by implementing many new ideas and plans which some say is leading Russia away from democracy and towards authoritarianism. He is said to be expanding already abundant presidential powers using terrorism as an excuse. “Since coming into office at the end of 1999, Putin's government has taken over or closed all independent national television channels, established unrivaled dominance of both houses of parliament, reasserted control over the country's huge energy industry and jailed or driven into exile business tycoons who defied him (Baker).” This is evidence about how much power the president wields. Putin is using his powers to create a “managed democracy” (Baker). In fact, the government has made many economic acquisitions which trouble observers. “President Putin is granting more influence to forces within his government that desire to reassert state control over the economy. State control has increased in the past year with a number of large acquisitions (“Russia” The World Factbook).”

In the political system established by the 1993 constitution, the Russian president exercises considerable executive power (“Russia” Jurist)”. The president has many different responsibilities and duties. He is considered the head of state and “guarantor of the Constitution (“President of Russia”).” He defines the basic foreign and domestic policy guidelines of the state (“President of Russia”) by conducting international talks and signing international treaties ("Russia" The Constitution and Government Structure). The President is also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. If there is an attack on Russia or an immediate threat of attack, he has the power to “introduce total or partial mobilization, martial law and statutory acts of wartime; shall form governmental bodies with executive powers for the period of wartime; and…shall give orders to conduct military operations (“President of Russia”).” Many of the federal ministries and agencies report directly to the President. They are known as the presidential bloc. They include the power bloc, which are the military and security agencies (“Russian Government”).

The president also has the task of appointing the highest state officials including the prime minister with the consent of the State Duma (“Russia” Jurist). The president also has the right to sign federal draft legislation into law or the power to veto it (“President of Russia”). He can also submit draft legislation. The president also must decide if a law is constitutional, which is similar to the Supreme Court in the United States. Under the constitution he “shall ensure that all governmental bodies execute their constitutional duties within the bounds of their authority (“President of Russia”).” He may also repeal laws that he feels are not legal under the constitution.

The Russian judiciary system “is established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the federal constitutional law (Konioukhova)”. The Russian judiciary system is divided into three branches. The first branch is the courts of general jurisdiction, which is under the Supreme Court. Another branch is the arbitration court system which is under the High Court of Arbitration, and finally, the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court was suspended by President Yeltsin in 1993, but was reconvened in 1995 (“Russia” Jurist). That is another prime example of how much power the president holds. The courts are supposed to serve as a part of the system of checks and balances. The president nominates judges for the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation. The judges are then appointed by the Federation Council (Konioukhova).

Unfortunately, protection of private property in Russia is weak. The Economist Intelligence Unit reports that "Russia's judicial system is still relatively weak and unpredictable. Corruption is rife among law enforcement bodies and judges, and court decisions are often difficult to implement. Many foreign investors have experienced problems in executing court rulings, and in obtaining satisfaction from contractual agreements (2006 Index of Economic Freedom).” The judiciary is has many problems with case backlogs, and long pretrial detention (“Russia” Jurist).

The government is the executive branch of state power. Although the president is the head of the state, the Government is headed by the Prime Minister, also known as the Chairman of the Government (“Russian Government”). “The Government of the Russian Federation consists of a Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers, Federal ministers, State Committees, Federal Commissions, Federal Services, Federal Supervision Departments, Federal Agencies, and Federal Inspections.