✶ Structure · Constitution of the Russian Federation, 1993 (amended 2020)
Who governs, and who chose them.
Voters choose the President and the State Duma directly. Nearly everyone else at the federal level is chosen
by the President or confirmed on his nomination: the Prime Minister and ministers, the top judges, part of
the upper chamber and a third of the election commission.
The chain of choice
Two direct votes, everything else follows.
Try it · Who chooses whom
Follow the arrows.
Select a body to see who chooses it and whom it chooses. Solid lines are elections and appointments; dashed lines are partial or occasional.
Voters
112.8 million registered for the 2026 Duma election. Citizens aged 18 and over, except people declared incapable by a court or serving a prison sentence (Constitution art. 32).
Chooses
President. Elect the President every six years, by an absolute majority of votes cast, with a run-off between the top two if no one wins one.
State Duma. Elect all 450 deputies every five years: 225 by nationwide party lists, 225 in single-member districts.
Regional legislatures. Elect regional legislatures, by mixed systems set in regional law.
Governors and heads of republics. Elect the governor directly in most regions, from candidates who passed a 'municipal filter' of signatures from municipal deputies.
President
Vladimir Putin, in office since 2012 (and 2000–2008). Six-year term.
Chosen by
Voters. Elect the President every six years, by an absolute majority of votes cast, with a run-off between the top two if no one wins one.
Chooses
Governors and heads of republics. Appoints an acting head when a governor leaves early; the acting head usually wins the next election.
Prime Minister and Government. Nominates the Prime Minister; appoints the deputy PMs and ministers the Duma approves (and may not refuse them), and, after consulting the Federation Council, the ministers for defence, security, internal affairs, justice, foreign affairs and emergencies.
Constitutional and Supreme Courts. Nominates the judges of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts.
Federation Council. Appoints up to 30 senators as 'representatives of the Russian Federation', up to seven of them for life. A former President may sit for life.
Central Election Commission. Names five of the 15 CEC members.
Voters. Elect all 450 deputies every five years: 225 by nationwide party lists, 225 in single-member districts.
Chooses
Prime Minister and Government. Approves the Prime Minister, deputy PMs and most ministers. If it rejects the President's PM nominee three times, the President appoints one and may dissolve the Duma.
Central Election Commission. Names five of the 15 CEC members.
Regional legislatures
One in each region, elected under regional law.
Chosen by
Voters. Elect regional legislatures, by mixed systems set in regional law.
Chooses
Governors and heads of republics. In some republics (e.g. Dagestan, North Ossetia, Karachay-Cherkessia) the legislature chooses the head from candidates the President puts forward.
Federation Council. Each legislature chooses one senator, for its own term.
Governors and heads of republics
One per region. Most are elected directly; acting heads are appointed by the President.
Chosen by
Voters. Elect the governor directly in most regions, from candidates who passed a 'municipal filter' of signatures from municipal deputies.
Regional legislatures. In some republics (e.g. Dagestan, North Ossetia, Karachay-Cherkessia) the legislature chooses the head from candidates the President puts forward.
President. Appoints an acting head when a governor leaves early; the acting head usually wins the next election.
Chooses
Federation Council. Each regional head appoints one senator, from three names put forward with the head's own candidacy.
Prime Minister and Government
Mikhail Mishustin, PM since 2020. Answers to the President.
Chosen by
President. Nominates the Prime Minister; appoints the deputy PMs and ministers the Duma approves (and may not refuse them), and, after consulting the Federation Council, the ministers for defence, security, internal affairs, justice, foreign affairs and emergencies.
State Duma. Approves the Prime Minister, deputy PMs and most ministers. If it rejects the President's PM nominee three times, the President appoints one and may dissolve the Duma.
Constitutional and Supreme Courts
Constitutional Court: 11 judges, President Valery Zorkin.
Chosen by
President. Nominates the judges of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts.
Federation Council. Appoints Constitutional and Supreme Court judges on the President's nomination, and since 2020 can remove them on his proposal.
Federation Council
The upper chamber: two senators per region plus up to 30 presidential appointees. Chair Valentina Matviyenko.
Chosen by
President. Appoints up to 30 senators as 'representatives of the Russian Federation', up to seven of them for life. A former President may sit for life.
Regional legislatures. Each legislature chooses one senator, for its own term.
Governors and heads of republics. Each regional head appoints one senator, from three names put forward with the head's own candidacy.
Chooses
Constitutional and Supreme Courts. Appoints Constitutional and Supreme Court judges on the President's nomination, and since 2020 can remove them on his proposal.
Central Election Commission. Names five of the 15 CEC members, who then elect the chair.
Central Election Commission
15 members; chair Ella Pamfilova. Runs federal elections and declares results.
Chosen by
President. Names five of the 15 CEC members.
State Duma. Names five of the 15 CEC members.
Federation Council. Names five of the 15 CEC members, who then elect the chair.
Fifth term from 7 May 2024. The 2020 amendments reset his term count, allowing him to run again in 2030 and serve to 2036.
Photos: Vladimir Putin
— Пресс-служба Президента России, CC BY 4.0 .
Via Wikimedia Commons.
Size
1
Chosen by
Elected directly. A candidate needs an absolute majority of votes cast; otherwise the top two meet in a run-off three weeks later. Only 1996 has gone to a second round.
Term
6 years (4 before 2012); two terms, counted afresh from 2024 under the 2020 amendments
Powers
Head of state, commander-in-chief, sets the 'basic directions' of domestic and foreign policy
Nominates the Prime Minister and, since 2020, appoints most ministers after Duma approval; appoints the ministers of defence, state security, internal affairs, justice, foreign affairs, emergencies and public security after consulting the Federation Council (Art. 83)
Can dissolve the Duma if it rejects his PM nominee three times
Issues decrees with the force of law; vetoes bills (overridden by two-thirds of both chambers)
Nominates judges, the Prosecutor General and a third of the CEC; appoints up to 30 senators
The 9th State Duma · factions after the first sitting, 30 Sep 2026
United Russia 350 of 450
Faction sizes differ slightly from the seats won at the election because elected independents
joined factions. 2026 results →
226needed for a majority
350United Russia
37Communist Party
24LDPR
20New People
17A Just Russia – For Truth
1Rodina
1Not in a faction
226Majority of all deputiesPasses a federal law (art. 105).United Russia alone clears it (350)
300Two-thirdsPasses a federal constitutional law or a constitutional amendment, overrides the Federation Council or a presidential veto, and brings impeachment charges.United Russia alone clears it (350)
338Three-quartersNo Duma vote requires it; it is the share the Federation Council needs for constitutional laws (art. 108).United Russia alone clears it (350)
Photos: Valentina Matviyenko
— Владислав Тарасов / Пресс-служба Совета Федерации РФ, CC BY 4.0 .
Via Wikimedia Commons.
Size
2 per federal subject (178 for the 89 Russia claims), plus up to 30 presidential appointees
Chosen by
Indirect. One senator is chosen by the regional legislature, one by the governor from three names put forward with the governor's own candidacy. Former presidents may sit for life.
Term
Tied to the term of the body that chose them
Powers
Approves laws passed by the Duma (by vote or by not acting within 14 days)
Approves troop deployments abroad, martial law and border changes; appoints Constitutional and Supreme Court judges
Calls presidential elections; removes the President after impeachment
Every bill starts in the Duma. Under the Duma's own rules it is debated in three readings: principles first,
then amendments article by article, then a final vote on the whole text. The Federation Council has 14 days,
the President another 14.
Try it · How a bill becomes law
Pass a law through the Federal Assembly.
Choose the kind of law, set the Duma vote, then decide what the Federation Council and the President do.
Thresholds are counted from all members, not those present.
Kind of law
Subject
Red marks: 226, a majority of all deputies · 300, two-thirds
Federation Council
Duma second vote
President
Override
Court ruling
Federal subjects and local government
Eighty-nine regions, six of them claimed.
Russia counts 89 federal subjects. Six are areas of Ukraine whose annexation is not internationally
recognised: Crimea, Sevastopol and the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts. Each subject sends
two senators to the Federation Council.
89Regional heads listed
2Acting, appointed by the PresidentOlga Abramova (Udmurtia) · Konstantin Shestakov (Primorsky Krai)
6Russian-installed heads in occupied Ukraine
83From United Russia Communist Party 3 · Independent 2 · A Just Russia 1
Regions (federal subjects)
83 internationally recognised + 6 annexed from Ukraine
Who Governor or head of republic
Mostly direct election since 2012, after a 'municipal filter': candidates need signatures from a set share of municipal deputies across most municipalities. Some republics (e.g. Dagestan, North Ossetia, Karachay-Cherkessia) let the legislature choose from presidential nominees. When a governor leaves early the President appoints an acting head, who then usually wins the next election.
Regional legislatures
One per region
Who Deputies
Direct, by mixed systems set in regional law; 39 regions elected new legislatures on 18–20 Sep 2026.
Municipalities
Municipal districts, urban and rural settlements, city districts
Who Councils and heads
Councils are elected directly. Direct election of mayors has largely ended: most heads are now picked by councils or by a competition commission partly appointed by the governor. Since 2020 local government is constitutionally part of a single system of 'public power'.
Regional heads as recorded in our snapshot of 89 federal subjects. Every region →
1 July 2020 · 'All-Russian vote'
The 2020 amendments.
Constitutional amendments approved in a week-long 'all-Russian vote': presidential terms reset; the Duma approves ministers; the Federation Council can remove judges; top officials may not hold foreign citizenship; local government joins a single system of 'public power'.
01
Presidential terms reset
The two-term limit no longer says 'in a row', and terms served before 2020 do not count. Vladimir Putin could run in 2024 and may run in 2030.
The Duma now approves the Prime Minister, deputy PMs and most federal ministers, and the President may not refuse to appoint those it approves (art. 112).
The heads of defence, state security, internal affairs, justice, foreign affairs and emergencies are appointed by the President after consulting the Federation Council (art. 83 'd1').
The President may ask the Constitutional Court to check a law before he signs it; if the Court finds it unconstitutional he returns it to the Duma (arts. 107, 108).
Top officials may not hold foreign citizenship or residence permits. A presidential candidate must have lived in Russia for 25 years (previously 10) and never held either (art. 81).
The Council of Europe's Venice Commission concluded in March 2021 that the amendments "disproportionately
strengthened the position of the President" and did away with some of the original checks and balances.
