List of presidents of Russia

Official standard of the President of the Russian Federation

Grand Kremlin Palace - the official residence of the President of Russia

This is a list of Presidents of the Russian Federation formed in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union. This list includes only those persons who were sworn into office as President of the Russian Federation following the ratification of the Russian Constitution, which took effect in 1993. For a longer, but less detailed list, go to List of heads of state of Russia

History

Boris Yeltsin came to power with a wave of high expectations. On June 12, 1991 he was elected president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic with 57% of the vote, becoming the first popularly elected president. But Yeltsin never recovered his popularity after a series of economic and political crises in Russia in the 1990s. The Yeltsin era was marked by widespread corruption, economic collapse, and enormous political and social problems. By the time he left office, Yeltsin had an approval rating of two percent by some estimates.

Throughout his presidential terms and into his second term as Prime Minister, Putin has enjoyed high approval ratings amongst the Russian public. During his eight years in office, the economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase sixfold (72% in PPP), poverty cut more than half and average monthly salaries increase from $80 to $640, or by 150% in real rates. At the same time, his conduct in office has been questioned by domestic dissenters, as well as foreign governments and human rights organizations, for his handling of internal conflicts in Chechnya and Dagestan, his record on internal human rights and freedoms, his relations with former Soviet Republics, and his relations with the so-called oligarchs: Russian businessmen with a high degree of power and influence within both the Russian Government and economy. This was seen by the Kremlin as a series of anti-Russian propaganda attacks orchestrated by western opponents and exiled oligarchs.

Medvedev was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian government on November 14, 2005. Formerly Vladimir Putin's chief of staff, he was also the Chairman of Gazprom's board of directors, a post he had held, for the second time, since 2000. On December 10, 2007, he was informally endorsed as a candidate for the forthcoming presidential elections by the largest Russian political party, United Russia, and officially endorsed on December 17, 2007. Medvedev's candidacy was supported by former President Vladimir Putin and pro-presidential parties. A technocrat and political appointee, Medvedev had never held elective office before 2008.

Presidents

For Russian leaders prior to this ratification, see List of leaders of the Soviet Union, and List of leaders of the Russian SFSR

      Democratic Russia       Unity       United Russia       Non-partisan

№	Term		Portrait	Presidents	Term of office		Affiliation	Presidential mandate	Prime Minister(s)
1	1			Boris Yeltsin Борис Ельцин (1931-02-01)February 1, 1931 —	July 10, 1991	August 9, 1996	Supported by Democratic Russia movement	57.30% 45,552,041 votes 1991	V. Chernomyrdin S. Kiriyenko Y. Primakov S. Stepashin V. Putin
	2				August 9, 1996	December 31, 1999	None	53.80% 40,208,384 votes (second round) 1996
2				Vladimir Putin Владимир Путин Born: (1952-10-07) October 7, 1952
	3				May 7, 2000	April 2001	Unity	52.94% 39,740,467 votes 2000	M. Kasyanov M. Fradkov V. Zubkov
					April 2001	May 7, 2004	None
	4				May 7, 2004	May 7, 2008	Supported by United Russia	71.31% 49,565,238 votes 2004
3	5			Dmitry Medvedev Дмитрий Медведев Born: (1965-09-14) September 14, 1965	May 7, 2008	September 24, 2011	Supported by United Russia	70.28% 52,530,712 votes 2008	V. Putin
					September 24, 2011	May 7, 2012	United Russia
4	6			Vladimir Putin Владимир Путин Born: (1952-10-07) October 7, 1952	May 7, 2012	Incumbent Term expires May 7, 2018	United Russia	63.60% 46,602,075 votes 2012	D. Medvedev

Acting Presidents

Main article: Acting President of Russia

      Non-partisan       Our Home – Russia       Unity

Portrait		Name	Affiliation	Term of office		Main post	Notes
		Alexander Rutskoy Александр Руцкой Born: (1947-09-16) September 16, 1947	Non-partisan	September 22, 1993	October 4, 1993	Vice President	De facto, been acting President, during the 1993 constitutional crisis, at the same time with Boris Yeltsin.
		Viktor Chernomyrdin Виктор Черномырдин (1938-04-09)April 9, 1938 —	Our Home – Russia	November 5, 1996	November 6, 1996	Prime Minister	Acting President during heart surgery Boris Yeltsin.
		Vladimir Putin Владимир Путин Born: (1952-10-07) October 7, 1952	Unity	December 31, 1999	May 7, 2000	Prime Minister	The acting president when Boris Yeltsin resigned early.

Timeline

See also

• President of Russia
• Politics of Russia
• Government of Russia

External links

• Central Bank of Russia
• Energy Statistics for Russia – From the Energy Information Administration
• Federative Council—Official site of the parliamentary upper house
• Russian News Agency Ria Novosti