Wanderlust World Wanderlust World The Russian Federation is constitutionally defined as a semi-presidential republic with a multi-party system. Power is shared between a directly elected president (head of state) and a prime minister appointed by the president with parliamentary consent (head of government). The Federal Assembly (parliament) consists of the State Duma (lower house) and the Federation Council (upper house).
While the constitution guarantees democratic institutions, in practice the political landscape has been dominated by the United Russia party and President Vladimir Putin since 2000. The system blends formal democratic structures with strong centralized authority, leading many observers to characterize it as an “electoral authoritarian” or “hybrid” regime rather than a full liberal democracy or a communist state.