ABSTRACT
Under the Constitution of 1993 (as subsequently revised), the Russian Federation is a democratic, federative, multi-ethnic republic, in which state power is divided between the legislature, executive and judiciary, which are independent of one another. The President is head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and holds broad executive powers. The President, who is elected for a term of six years, renewable once, by universal direct suffrage, appoints the Chairman of the Government (Prime Minister). (Constitutional amendments approved in 2020 permitted the incumbent President, Vladimir Putin, to seek two further terms of office following the expiry of his non-consecutive fourth mandate in 2024.) Supreme legislative power is vested in the bicameral Federalnoye Sobraniye (Federal Assembly). The upper chamber is the Sovet Federatsii (Federation Council), which comprises two representatives from each of the country's federal territorial units and up to 30 members appointed by the President (of whom seven may be appointed for life); its lower chamber is the 450-member Gosudarstvennaya Duma (State Duma), which is elected by direct universal suffrage for a period of five years.
