Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Boris Nikolayevich YEL'TSIN (since 12 June 1991) head of government: Premier and Chairman of the Russian Federation Government Sergey Vladilenovich KIRIYENKO (since 23 March 1998), Deputy Premiers and Deputy Chairmen of the Government Viktor Borisovich KHRISTENKO (since 28 April 1998), Boris Yefimovich NEMTSOV (since 28 April 1998), Oleg Nikolayevich SYSUYEV (since 17 March 1997) cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" appointed by the president note: there is also a Presidential Administration that drafts presidential edicts and provides staff and policy support to the entire executive branch; a Security Council that was originally established as a presidential advisory body in June 1991 with responsibility for managing individual and state security; a Defense Council and a Foreign Policy Council formed in July 1996 and October 1996 respectively elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 16 June 1996 with runoff election on 3 July 1996 (next to be held NA June 2000); note-no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the premier succeeds him; the premier serves as acting president until a new presidential election is held, which must be within three months; premier and deputy premiers appointed by the president with the approval of the Duma election results: Boris Nikolayevich YEL'TSIN elected president; percent of vote in runoff - YEL'TSIN 54%, Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV 40%
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly or Federal'noye Sobraniye consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (178 seats, filled ex-officio by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units-oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg; members serve four-year terms) and the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats, half elected in single-member districts and half elected from national party lists; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: State Duma-last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held NA December 1999) election results: State Duma-percent of vote received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats-Communist Party of the Russian Federation 22.3%, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 11.2%, Our Home Is Russia 10.1%, Yabloko Bloc 6.9%; seats by party-Communist Party of the Russian Federation 157, independents 78, Our Home Is Russia 55, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 51, Yabloko Bloc 45, Agrarian Party of Russia 20, Russia's Democratic Choice 9, Power To the People 9, Congress of Russian Communities 5, Forward, Russia! 3, Women of Russia 3, other parties 15
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, judges are appointed for life by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Supreme Court, judges are appointed for life by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Superior Court of Arbitration, judges are appointed for life by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president
Political parties and leaders: pro-market democrats: Yabloko Bloc [Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY]; Russia's Democratic Choice Party [Yegor Timurovich GAYDAR]; Forward, Russia! [Boris Grigor'yevich FEDOROV] centrists/special interest parties: Our Home Is Russia [Viktor Stepanovich CHERNOMYRDIN]; Russian People's Republican Party [Aleksandr Ivanovich LEBED]; Congress of Russian Communities [Dmitriy Olegovich ROGOZIN]; Women of Russia [Alevtina Vasil'yevna FEDULOVA and Yekaterina Filippovna LAKHOVA] anti-market and/or ultranationalist: Communist Party of the Russian Federation [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia [Vladimir Vol'fovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Agrarian Party [Mikhail Ivanovich LAPSHIN]; Power To the People [Nikolay Ivanovich RYZHKOV and Sergey Nikolayevich BABURIN]; Russian Communist Workers' Party [Viktor Ivanovich ANPILOV and Viktor Arkad'yevich TYUL'KIN] note: some 269 political parties, blocs, and associations tried to gather enough signatures to run slates of candidates in the 17 December 1995 Duma elections; 43 succeeded
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: BIS (pending member), BSEC,
CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer),
MINUGUA, MINURSO, MTCR, NSG, OAS (observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN
Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR,
UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO (applicant), ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Yuliy Mikhaylovich VORONTSOV chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700 through 5704 FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735 consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador James F. COLLINS embassy: Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, Moscow mailing address: APO AE 09721 telephone: [7] (095) 252-24-51 through 59 FAX: [7] (095) 956-42-61 consulate(s) general: St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg