The Federal Assembly and the Government

Russia is a democratic federative law-governed state with a republican form of government. According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation (1993), The Federal Assembly (the Parliament) is the legislative body of the Russian Federation, It consists of two chambers: the State Duma is the lower house and the Federation Council is the upper house.

The Federal Assembly is a permanently functioning body. The Federation Council and the State Duma sit separately. Their sessions are open, but they have the right to conduct closed sessions. Each chamber forms committees which hold appropriate hearings.

Federal laws adopted by the State Duma on the following issues must be examined by the Federation Council:

· the federal budget, federal taxes;

· financial, currency and customs regulation, money emission;

· the status and protection of the state border of the Russian Federation;

· war and peace.

The Federation Council is the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia. Each of the 83 federal subjects (constituent entities) of Russia – consisting of 21 republics, 46 oblasts, nine krais, two federal cities, four autonomous okrugs, and one autonomous oblast – sends two senators to the Council. The total membership is 166 councilors. The Chairwoman of the Federation Council is Valentina Matviyenko (2013).

This legislative body ap­proves decisions on changes of borders between constituent entities and sanc­tions the introduction of martial law and a state of emergency. It appoints and dismisses the Prosecutor General and judges of the supreme body of the judicial branch. Additionally, the Feder­ation Council has the right of final decision on the impeachment of the President and the announcement of new elections of the President.

The State Duma consists of 450 deputies and has special powers enumerated by the Constitution of Russia. The President appoints the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation with the consent of the State Duma. The State Duma has the right to bring charges against the President of the Russian Federation for his impeachment. All bills are first approved by the State Duma and are further debated and approved (or rejected) by the Federation Council. Currently Sergey Naryshkin is a speaker of the Russian State Duma.

The Executive power is exercised by the government which consists of the Chairman of the Government (the Prime Minister), deputy chairmen and the federal ministers. The 1993 Constitution created a dual executive branch consisting of a president and prime minister, but the president is the dominant figure. The citizens of the country are entitled to voting at 18 years old. Direct Presidential election is held every 6 years from 2012.

The Chairman's candidate is appointed by the Pres­ident with the consent of the State Duma. If the selected candidate is rejected three times, the President appoints the Prime Minister himself, dis­solves the State Duma and announces new elections.

The prime minister carries out administration in line with the constitution and laws and presidential decrees. The ministries of the Government:

· execute monetary policy;

· deal with defense, foreign policy, and state security functions;

· ensure the rule of law and respect for human and civil rights;

· protect property and combat crimes.

The judicial power is provided by appropriate judicial system and by civil, administrative and criminal legislation. The president presents to the Federation Council candidates for the posts of the Constitutional and Supreme Court justices, Supreme Arbitrage Court justices, and a candidate for the post of Prosecutor General.