Government+Structure+Russia+Period+3


 * Constitutional Provisions
 * The constitution of the Russian Federation was formed in 1993 after the breakup of the USSR and a power struggle between Yeltsin and the Russian parlaiment. It was ratified by referendum on December 12, 1993.
 * The constitution creates a federal state with a hybrid presidential-parliamentary system.
 * The executive branch is shared by the President and Prime Minister. The President is directly elected, then the elected president appoints the Prime Minister, who must be approved by the lower house of the parliament.
 * The president serves as the head of state, while the prime minister serves as head of government.
 * There is no Vice President, if the President dies or cannot continue serving, the Prime Minister acts as president until the next election.
 * The legislature is bicameral, with an upper house, the Federation Council, that is appointed by the heads of regional executive and representative organs. The lower house, the State Duma, is chosen by direct election and uses a proportional representation system for the 450 deputies that occupy the lower house.
 * The legislature holds the power to propose and approve legislation, and the power to approve or deny of Presidential appointments.
 * The Judiciary of Russia is an Independent constitutional court with nineteen members who are nominated by the president and approved by the Federation council. Justices hold twelve year terms with the possibility of renewal of term.
 * The Russian constitution contains many democratic elements, elements such as seperation of powers, an independent judiciary branch, a federal system, and civil liberties for citizens. However, the constitution also places a majority of power in the executive branch, causing tension between the president, prime minister, and the legislature.
 * Constitution in Reality
 * Rule of law was strengthened by Putin's peaceful transfer of power to Medvedev
 * Russia continues to exhibit Rule by law, evidenced in its manipulated judiciary
 * Constitutionality in question after easy amendment to constitution under Putin and Medvedev -- electoral process changes and extension of presidential term limit to six years.
 * Executive
 * __ President __
 * Head of State and Commander in Chief
 * Oversees foreign policy, relations with regional governments, and the organs of state security, also holds the locus of executive power following the Putin administration.
 * Elected popularly to a six year term (will go into effect after the 2012 election following amendment made to constitution), may not serve more than two consecutive terms (but may serve after two consecutive terms, i.e. Putin’s plan for a 2012 reelection).
 * Holds power of temporary policy decree (temporary until the Federal Assembly passes formal legislation), right to call a state of emergency, impose martial law, grant pardons, call referendums, and temporarily suspend other state organs if deemed at conflict with the constitution or federal law.
 * The president is succeeded by the prime minister until the next presidential election in case of death or resignation.


 * __ Putin __
 * Became president in 1999 following Yeltsin’s resignation
 * Elected popularly in 2000 and 2004 to office, with an astonishing majority in 2004
 * Consolidated and centralized political power to the president during his administration in his “power vertical” policy approach
 * Under “power vertical,” Putin made the election of governors a presidential right of nomination, cracked down on oligarchs, eliminated non-party seats and consolidated party power, and restructured civil society.
 * Putin still remains in the executive today as prime minister to Medvedev, his hand-picked successor, and questions remain as to whether Medvedev has authority over Putin or not.
 * Putin is also hinting at a 2012 presidential comeback for the newly enacted six-year presidential term limit.


 * __ Prime Minister __
 * Head of Government
 * Focuses on economy and related issues
 * Chosen by the president and approved by the //Duma//
 * Term length accompanies presidential term length; however, no Russian president has ever had only one prime minister for their full administration.
 * Can be removed by the //Duma// with two repeat votes of no confidence, attempted several times in the past decade but has never succeeded.
 * Rejection of a nominee three times by the //Duma// leads to the dissolution of the //Duma// itself, thus, the //Duma// is reluctant to defy the president.
 * Current power of the prime minister and president now in question because of the current Putin/Medvedev relationship, with speculation that the president, Medvedev is now only a vehicle for Putin’s whims.


 * __ Presidential Administration __
 * Functions alongside the state bureaucracy and answers directly to the president.
 * Can duplicate or compete with the formal agencies of the state
 * Employs over 2,000 people


 * __ Security Council __
 * Advisory body to the president, arbitrarily created without constitutional precedent
 * Formed in 1992
 * Advises the president in areas related to foreign policy and security
 * Includes heads of appropriate bodies (such as the Defense and Federal Security Service), the prime minister, and the heads of seven newly created federal districts

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 * __ State Council __
 * Formed in 2000
 * Putin’s attempt to redefine the role of regional leaders in federal decision making
 * Composed of all of the regional heads
 * Consults the president, regional heads hold no “real” power
 * The curerent president is Dimitry Medvedev[[image:medvedev.jpg]]
 * The current prime minister is Vladimir Putin[[image:putin-500_15619t.jpg width="114" height="131"]]
 * Served as President from 2000 to 2008, named Medvedev as his successor
 * Legislative
 * Granted constitutional power in the legislative and budgetary areas
 * President has veto power, can be overridden by legislature with a 2/3 majority
 * Each house also has the power to confirm presidential appointees including the prime minister
 * Federation council
 * Two representatives from each of Russia’s federal regions and republics
 * One chosen by the regional executive and one by the regional legislature
 * Confirms presidential nominees to judiciary and decides on the employment of troops abroad
 * A compliant organ, since nominations to office are often made in exchange for political loyalty
 * // Duma //
 * 450 members chosen through proportional representation
 * Has constitutionally granted powers in legislation and budgetary areas, also confirms the prime minister and other presidential nominees
 * Serves a 5 year term (amended with the presidential term limits, formerly 4 year term)
 * Party politics play more of a role here than in the Federation Council, as there were 4 factions following the 2007 elections.
 * Women participation low in the //Duma//, only 13.5 percent in 2008
 * Military and Police
 * From the tradition of Military subordination to the communist state, the military in Russia is currently very loyal to the state, as it was in the past.
 * There are also numerous security organs in Russia, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The leaders associated with the security sector in Russia, often linked to Putin, are collectively called the //siloviki//.
 * Comparative Context
 * In a comparative context, Russia is a mixed presidential/parliamentary system.
 * Russia can be characterized as a transitional democracy that may very well be backsliding to a more authoritarian system, as evidenced by Vladimir Putin's power vertical (centralization of power), the dominance of United Russia as a political party, and the possible election bid of Putin in 2012.
 * Russia shares a similar legislative structure with Great Britain, Mexico, and Nigeria, in that the four possess bicameral legislatures.
 * Similiarly, Russia's former structure of communist rule set the basis for early communist rule in China, including collectivization of agriculture, Five Year Plans, and state owned enterprises.
 * Level of Democracy
 * As previously stated, Russia is a transitional democracy. Citizens have the right, in most cases, to express themselves politically on paper, but in reality there is not a well developed civil society and politics is dominated by one party - United Russia.
 * In addition, the judiciary of Russia, although independent on paper, is not so in practice, and the conviction rate in Russia's inquisitional court system is very high.
 * Based on the Freedom House, Russia's status is not free with a political rights score of 6 and a civil liberties score of 5.
 * This rating was assigned due to allegations of electoral fraud, increased police corruption, and repeated use of political terror on activists and journalists.
 * Legitimacy
 * Comes from State-Society relations in which the the citizens still believe it is a democratic system.
 * Putin's overwhelming popularity raises government legitimacy
 * Public opinion portrays low and declining legitimacy due to distrust in state institutions
 * Transparency
 * Russia scored very low on Transparency International's corruption perceptions index, scoring a 2.2 out of ten and ranking 146th in the world in 2009