1. Political Regime in the Russian Federation
How this all works. Or doesn’t. Or something.

2. The Constitution
A battle in and of itself.

3. Writing The Constitution
Following the attempted coup d’etat, Yeltsin found himself with a dissolved Soviet state, but with institutions from the previous era
Conflicts between Yeltsin and existing parliament  Congress of People’s Deputies and the Supreme Soviet
Yeltsin dissolved parliament  opponents barricaded themselves in their offices, tried to take control of media, and called for the army to overthrow Yeltsin
Army sided with Yeltsin  allowed Yeltsin to move forward with writing a new constitution
Constitution was ratified in 1993  circumstances led to a constitution which emphasized and privileged presidential power

4. The Kremlin
Executive branch.

5. The Center of Power
Kremlin = fortress at the center of Moscow  “The Kremlin” has the same symbolic meaning as “The Crown,” or “The White House” as a description of the seat of power
1993 Constitution created a powerful presidency, able to push of political & economic changes
Technically a semi-presidential system  power divided between a president (currently Vladimir Putin) and PM (Dimitri Medvedev)

6. The Presidency
President = directly elected, six year term of office (as of 2012), can serve no more than two consecutive terms in a row
Power of the president is extensive:
President, not parliament, selects PM and cabinet  Duma may reject their selection, but if the Duma makes three times, the president must dissolve the Duma and order new elections
President, however, cannot dissolve the Duma in the year after an election or in the last six months of their term
Appoints leaders to the seven federal districts of Russia
May propose and veto bills, can issue decrees  do not require legislative support, are often NOT MADE PUBLIC, and may not be challenged in court
Direct control over the Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, Interior Ministry (police and security), and Federal Security Services (FSB  former KGB)
Impeachment requires an approval by the high courts for a trial, and then 2/3s of both houses agree on removal

7. The Prime Minister Much weaker role than the president (ON PAPER):
Uphold the policy goals of the president in the legislature
Supervise ministries NOT under presidential control
Put forth the national budget
Putin served as PM “under” Medvedev from 2008 to 2012, and continued to dominate politics
Personal power over institutional authority

8. Legislature
The Duma and the Federal Assembly.

9. Power of the Legislature
Legislative bodies ineffective and deliberately weakened during Soviet era  persistence in modern Russian political regime
Bicameral parliament = Federal Assembly
Lower house = the Duma (450 seats)  more powerful, members have five year terms
Can initiate or reject legislation  under Yeltsin, happened frequently; under Putin, not so much
Approves or rejects presidential appointments (like PM and cabinet)  can result in its own dissolution, though
Can call for a vote of no confidence against PM, but president can disregard results  hasn’t happened, but came close in 1998
Currently dominated by one major party

10. Power of the Legislature
Upper house = Federation Council (166 seats)
Even less powerful than Duma
Technically meant to represent local interests and protect the constitution  represents all 85 federal administrative units, 2 seats per unit
Selection for Federation Council = one representative selected by governor of region, one representative selected by local regional legislature
Does NOT produce legislation  approves bills dealing with taxation and budget
May review and consider other legislation IF it acts within two weeks of it passing the Duma  if the Federation Council rejects Duma legislation, the Duma may override the decision with a 2/3s vote
Can impeach the president, approve or reject appointees to the Constitutional Court, approve or reject declarations or war or international treaties

11. The Judiciary
The dictatorship of Law?

12. Judicial System Highest court = Constitutional Court
Developed under Gorbachev’s reforms
19 members  nominated by president, confirmed by Federation Council; serve for life
Power of abstract review AND concrete review
NOT a last court of appeals for criminal cases
“The country remains mired in… legal nihilism, wherein legal codes are not respected and the state frequently uses the courts to settle political vendettas or target political opposition.” (386)

13. Electoral System
Voting in Russia.

14. Electoral System: National Level
Multiple changes to Russia’s electoral structures over the last 15 years
Electing the President
Candidates for president must either:
Be nominated by a party represented in the Duma
Collect 2 million signatures in support of their candidacy
Requires a majority vote; if no candidate wins a majority in the first round, the top two candidates will have a second round runoff election
Putin won a majority in 2000 and 2004, and in 2012 won 63% of the vote (lots of voter fraud accusations, though)

15. Electoral System: National Level
Electing the Duma
Constitution of 1993 established a mixed system: half the seats were MMD using PR, and half were SMD
System changed under Putin  consolidation of political power
SMD candidates often represented regional interests (Chechnya, anyone?), and were often independent
2007  Duma elections switched to PR only, and a party had to get 7% of the vote to get a seat (raised from 5%)

16. Electoral System: Local Level
Ongoing tensions between central government and local authorities
Russia = federal structure with 80 different regional bodies:
21 republics (22 with Crimea), 46 oblasts (provinces), 9 krays (territories), 4 autonomous okrugs (districts), and 2 federal cities (Moscow and St. Petersburg; 3 with Sevastopol, Crimea)
Each body has different rights and powers = asymmetric federalism
Republics = non-Russian ethnic groups, greater autonomy
1990s  some claimed sovereignty bordering on full independence (Chechnya)
Putin’s government has instituted systems to try and limit regional powers
Regional laws brought under federal control, often overturned
Creation of 8 federal districts headed by a presidential appointee  more direct control over regions
Regional governors and heads of local Dumas prohibited from serving in the Federation Council

17. Electoral System: Local Level
Election of regional governors has vacillated between direct elections and direct appointments (2004 – 2012)
Direct elections returned under Medvedev, but most governors have since been part of United Russia
Local mayors remain directly elected, can be very powerful
Navalny’s attempt to forge opposition
Some discussion of eliminating direct election of mayors in favor of appointment by city councils

18. Political Parties
United Russia, and whoever else is allowed to compete.

19. Communist Party of the Russian Federation
United Russia
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
Yabloko
Just Russia