List of presidents of Russia
This is a list of presidents of the Russian Federation since 1992. The institution of presidency in Russia was planned in 1918 after the February Revolution and was introduced after the referendum in 1991.[1] During the Soviet period of history, Russia was de jure headed by collective bodies such as the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, since the Soviet theory of government denied the very necessity of the presidential office. The office of the President of the Soviet Union was introduced in 1990 during Mikhail Gorbachev's unsuccessful reforms of the Soviet Union's one-party communist state. Gorbachev became first and last president of the Union.[2] His tenure was marked by the legal and political confrontation with Russia and other republics of the USSR which eventually led to their full independence in late 1991.
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Presidents
Nonpartisan (4) | |||||||||
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Presi- dency |
Portrait | President | Term of office | Term | Previous office | Prime Minister | |||
1 | ![]() |
Boris Yeltsin Борис Ельцин 1931–2007 ![]() |
10 July 1991[note 1] – 31 December 1999 (resigned from office) (8 years, 174 days) |
1 (1991) [note 2] |
Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Russia (1990–1991) |
I. Silayev | |||
Himself | |||||||||
V. Chernomyrdin | |||||||||
2 (1996) | |||||||||
S. Kiriyenko | |||||||||
Y. Primakov | |||||||||
S. Stepashin | |||||||||
V. Putin | |||||||||
2 | ![]() |
Vladimir Putin Владимир Путин Born 1952 (age 70) ![]() |
7 May 2000 – 7 May 2008 (acting from 31 December 1999) (8 years, 128 days) |
1 (2000) |
Prime Minister of Russia (1999–2000) |
Himself | |||
M. Kasyanov | |||||||||
M. Fradkov | |||||||||
2 (2004) | |||||||||
V. Zubkov | |||||||||
3 | ![]() |
Dmitry Medvedev Дмитрий Медведев Born 1965 (age 57) ![]() |
7 May 2008 – 7 May 2012 (4 years, 0 days) |
1 (2008) |
First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia (2005–2008) |
V. Putin | |||
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Vladimir Putin Владимир Путин Born 1952 (age 70) ![]() |
7 May 2012 – Present (10 years, 170 days) |
3 (2012) |
Prime Minister of Russia (2008–2012) |
Himself[note 3] | ||||
4 (2) |
D. Medvedev | ||||||||
4 (2018) | |||||||||
M. Mishustin |
Acting presidents
Nonpartisan NDR | ||||||
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Image | Acting President | Term of office | Main post | Notes | ||
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Alexander Rutskoy Александр Руцкой Born 1947 (age 75) |
22 September 1993 – 4 October 1993 | Vice President | Acting president during the 1993 constitutional crisis. His powers were not recognized by Boris Yeltsin. | ||
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Viktor Chernomyrdin Виктор Черномырдин 1938–2010 (aged 72) |
5 November 1996 – 6 November 1996 | Prime Minister | Acting president during Boris Yeltsin's heart surgery. | ||
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Vladimir Putin Владимир Путин Born 1952 (age 70) |
31 December 1999 – 7 May 2000 | Prime Minister | Acting president after Yeltsin's early resignation. |
Timeline

Subsequent public service
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 the Security Council (2020–present) |
See also
- President of Russia
- List of leaders of Russia
- List of Russian monarchs (before 1917)
- List of heads of state of Russia (from 1917)
- Politics of Russia
- Government of Russia
Notes
- As president of the Russian SFSR as part of the Soviet Union.
- Continued to serve his first term until 1996 despite adopting a new constitution after a military conflict with the parliament in 1993.
- Before May 8, 2012, In May 7, 2012, Vladimir Putin inaugurated, but remained without prime minister
References
- Aluf, I. A. (1979). February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution of 1917. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (3rd ed.). The Gale Group, Inc.
- "End of the Soviet Union: Text of Gorbachev's Farewell Address". The New York Times. 26 December 1991. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
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