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The office of thepresident of Russia is the highest authority in theRussian Federation. The holder is the federation's head of state and has formal presidency over theState Council as well as being thecommander in chief of theRussian Armed Forces. The office wasintroduced in 1918 after theFebruary Revolution with the current office emerging after areferendum of 1991.[1] During the Soviet period of history,Russia wasde jure headed by collective bodies such as theAll-Russian Central Executive Committee and thePresidium of the Supreme Soviet, since theSoviet theory of government denied the very necessity of the presidential office. The office of thePresident of the Soviet Union was introduced in 1990 duringMikhail Gorbachev'sunsuccessful reforms of the Soviet Union'sone-partycommunist state. Gorbachev became first and last president of the Union.[2] His tenure was marked by thelegal and political confrontation with Russia and other republics of the USSR which eventually led to their full independence in late 1991.
| Nonpartisan CPSU NDR OVR Unity United Russia Acting PMs | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | President | Term of office | Term | Previous office | Prime Minister | |||
| 1 | .jpg) | Boris Yeltsin Борис Ельцин 1931–2007  | 10 July 1991 –31 December 1999 (resigned from office) (8 years, 174 days) | 1 (1991) [note 1] | Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Russia (1990–1991) | Ivan Silayev | ||
| Himself | ||||||||
| Yegor Gaidar | ||||||||
| Viktor Chernomyrdin | ||||||||
| 2 (1996) | ||||||||
| Sergei Kiriyenko | ||||||||
| Viktor Chernomyrdin | ||||||||
| Yevgeny Primakov | ||||||||
| Sergei Stepashin | ||||||||
| Vladimir Putin | ||||||||
| 2 | .jpg) | Vladimir Putin Владимир Путин Born 1952 (age73)  | 7 May 2000 –7 May 2008 (acting from 31 December 1999) (8 years, 128 days) | 3 (2000) | Prime Minister of Russia (1999–2000) | |||
| Mikhail Kasyanov[note 2] | ||||||||
| Mikhail Fradkov | ||||||||
| 4 (2004) | ||||||||
| Viktor Zubkov | ||||||||
| 3 | .jpg) | Dmitry Medvedev Дмитрий Медведев Born 1965 (age60)  | 7 May 2008 –7 May 2012 (4 years, 0 days) | 5 (2008) | First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia (2005–2008) | Vladimir Putin | ||
| 4 | _(cropped)_2.png) | Vladimir Putin Владимир Путин Born 1952 (age73) | 7 May 2012 – Present (13 years, 283 days) | 6 (2012) | Prime Minister of Russia (2008–2012) | Viktor Zubkov | ||
| Dmitry Medvedev | ||||||||
| 7 (2018) | ||||||||
| Mikhail Mishustin | ||||||||
| 8 (2024) | ||||||||
| Portrait | Acting President | Term of office | Main post | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | Alexander Rutskoy Александр Руцкой Born 1947 (age78) | 22 September – 4 October 1993 | Vice President | Acting president during the1993 constitutional crisis. His powers were not recognized by Boris Yeltsin. | |
 | Viktor Chernomyrdin Виктор Черномырдин 1938–2010 (aged 72) | 5–6 November 1996 | Prime Minister | Acting president during Boris Yeltsin's heart surgery. | |
.jpg) | Vladimir Putin Владимир Путин Born 1952 (age73) | 31 December 1999 – 7 May 2000 | Acting president after Yeltsin's early resignation. | ||
Two presidents held other high offices after leaving the presidency.
| President | Presidency | Subsequent service |
|---|---|---|
| Vladimir Putin | 2000–2008 | Prime Minister (2008–2012) |
| President (2012–present) | ||
| Dmitry Medvedev | 2008–2012 | Prime Minister (2012–2020) |
| Deputy Chairman of theSecurity Council (2020–present) |
