President of Russia
| President of the Russian Democratic Republic
Президент Российской Демократической Республики | |
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File:Standard of the President of the Russian Federation Fixed.svg Presidential Standard | |
| Style |
Mr President (informal) His Excellency (diplomatic) |
| Status | Head of state |
| Residence | Catherine Palace, Pushkin, Saint Petersburg |
| Appointer | Federal Assembly |
| Term length | 5 years, renewable once consecutively |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Russia |
| Formation | 23 May 1960 |
| Deputy |
Speaker of the State Duma (Ex officio) |
| Salary | ₽255,000 annually |
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The President of the Russian Democratic Republic, or the President of Russia, is the head of state of Russia. Although theoretically the constitution of Russia grants the president significant powers, by tradition and law the president is a largely ceremonial figure that serves as a symbol of the nation and uses powers if the Prime Minister, the most powerful member of the executive branch, becomes incapacitated.
Russia is a parliamentary system where the prime minister is the leading figure in the government, reducing the president to the role of a figurehead in practice. Despite this, the president has broad "reserve powers" and an important ceremonial function. The president appoints the chairman of the government (prime minister), the deputy chairman, the ministers, the directors of federal agencies, and the justices of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts. The president can also remove the prime minister and the Cabinet at any time. Additionally, the president signs bills into law and is empowered to dissolve the Federal Assembly of Russia and the state legislatures, sign treaties with foreign countries, rule by emergency decree, and command the Self-Defense Forces. However, most of these presidential powers have never been applied, or are exercised by the prime minister in the name of the president. Furthermore, the president ranks first in Russia's order of precedence, ahead of the speaker of the State Duma and the prime minister.
History
The office of president was created on 23 May 1960 along with the rest of the Government of the Russian Democratic Republic. The Russian constitutional convention and the Allied Control Council deliberately chose a parliamentary system, in which the leading figure in the executive branch is a prime minister appointed by the legislature, to reduce the historic dictatorial role of the Russian head of state.