First President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, resigns from office, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President and successor.
The president of the Russian Federation (Russian: Президент Российской Федерации, tr. Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii), is the head of state of the Russian Federation, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. It is the highest office in Russia.
The modern incarnation of the office has its roots in the presidency of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). The president of the RSFSR was established in the 1977 Soviet Constitution in order to more efficiently lead the RSFSR which had both the largest economy and population of all the republics in the Soviet Union. In 1991, Boris Yeltsin was the first non Communist Party member to be elected president. He played a crucial role in the Dissolution of the Soviet Union which saw the transformation of the RSFSR into the Russian Federation. Following a series of scandals and doubts about his leadership, violence erupted across Moscow in the 1993 Russian Constitutional Crisis. As a result, a new constitution was implemented and the 1993 Russian Constitution remains in force today. The constitution states that Russia is a semi-presidential system which separates the president of Russia from the Government of Russia, which exercises executive power.In all cases where the president of the Russian Federation is unable to fulfill their duties, those duties shall be temporarily delegated to the prime minister of Russia, who becomes acting president of Russia.The power includes execution of federal law, alongside the responsibility of appointing federal ministers, diplomatic, regulatory and judicial officers, and concluding treaties with foreign powers with the advice and consent of the State Duma and the Federation Council. The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves, and to convene and adjourn the Federal Assembly under extraordinary circumstances. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the Russian Federation.
The president is elected directly through a popular vote to a six-year term. The Constitution of the Russian Federation established term limits for the presidency restricting the officeholder to serve no more than two terms. However the framework established by the constitution has since been overhauled in large part due to the 2020 Russian Constitutional Amendments. One of the amendments passed reset the terms of both Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, allowing either to serve as president for a full two terms regardless of their previous terms. In all, three individuals have served four presidencies spanning six full terms. In May 2012, Vladimir Putin became the fourth president; he was re-elected in March 2018 and inaugurated in May to a six-year term. He will be eligible for election in 2024.