The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, (Russian: Председатель Правительства Российской Федерации) unofficially called the Prime-Minister (though such term is not present in the Russian Constitution) is the current Head of Government of the Russian Federation. Executive power is split between the Prime Minister and the President of Russia, who is Russia's Head of State.
During the Imperial era, the Chairman of the Russian Council of Ministers, referred to as the prime minister, was appointed by the Czar (the Emperor); his precursor, the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, had no separate power.
In the era of the Soviet Union, the head of government was the Chairman of Council of People's Commissars (until 1946) and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (after 1946). People who held those positions are sometimes referred to as the prime ministers.
Appointment to office and removal from office
The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of Russia with the consent of the State Duma.
The President nominates the new head of the cabinet within two weeks after the resignation of the previous government or the inauguration ceremony of the President. The State Duma must discuss the matter within two weeks after the nomination and make a decision. If the State Duma decides to give the President its consent, the President may immediately sign the respective appointment decree. If the State Duma refuses to give its approval, the President will have to present another candidate within one week after the rejection of the previous candidate.
Should the State Duma reject candidates nominated by the President for three times consecutively, the President dissolves it and announces new elections, while the Prime Minister is appointed by the President without participation of the Duma. The State Duma cannot be dissolved on these grounds during the last six months of the incumbent President's term, in time of emergency or war and in case the State Duma initiates the impeachment of the incumbent President.
The Prime Minister may be dismissed by the President at any time at President's own discretion. The Prime Minister may also pass his resignation to the President on his own initiative. The President may reject the Prime Minister's resignation and oblige him to work further. The resignation of the Prime Minister automatically means the resignation of the whole government as a body.
Under certain circumstances the President may also theoretically be forced to dismiss his Prime Minister and the whole cabinet under pressure of the State Duma. For that to happen the State Duma has to pass a censure motion against the Government twice within three months. Normally, in this case the President has the right to choose whether to sack the Government or to dissolve the Duma (and if the Duma passes the censure motion just once, the President may also opt to "take into account" the decision of the Duma but "not agree" with it, which technically means that neither the cabinet nor the Duma are dismissed). However, within one year from parliamentary elections the dissolution of the Duma is impossible on these grounds. That is why in this case the President does not have any other option but to dismiss his Prime Minister and the cabinet as a whole (even if he totally supports it).
Other members of the Russian Government are appointed and dismissed by the President upon recommendation of the Prime Minister.
Duties and competences
In general, the Prime Minister serves more of an administrative role, nominating members of the Cabinet and implementing domestic policy. In accordance with the federal constitutional law "On the Government of the Russian Federation" the Prime Minister exercises the following duties:
- determines the basic guidelines of the Government activity;
- presents to the President proposals on the structure and functions of the central institutions of the executive branch (e.g. ministries and federal agencies);
- nominates the vice prime ministers, federal ministers and other officers and presents them to the President;
- represents the government as an institution in foreign relations and inside the country;
- heads the sessions of the Government and its Presidium and has the right of decisive vote;
- signs the decrees and executive orders of the government;
- systematically informs the President about the Government activities;
Succession of the presidency
In case of the President's death, resignation or impeachment the Prime Minister becomes a temporary president until new presidential elections which must take place within three months. The Prime Minister acting as president may not dissolve the State Duma, announce a referendum or propose amendments to the Constitution.
List of Prime Ministers
| A# |
Name |
Took Office |
Left Office |
Political Party |
Served Under |
|
Chairmen of Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire (1905-1917)
|
| 1 |
Graf (Count) Sergei Witte |
 |
6 November 1905 |
5 May 1906 |
|
Nicholas II |
| 2 |
Ivan Goremykin |
 |
5 May 1906 |
21 July 1906 |
|
Nicholas II |
| 3 |
Pyotr Stolypin |
 |
21 July 1906 |
18 September 1911 |
|
Nicholas II |
| 4 |
Vladimir Kokovtsov |
|
18 September 1911 |
12 February 1914 |
|
Nicholas II |
| 5 |
Ivan Goremykin |
|
12 February 1914 |
2 February 1916 |
|
Nicholas II |
| 6 |
Boris Stürmer |
 |
2 February 1916 |
23 November 1916 |
|
Nicholas II |
| 7 |
Alexander Trepov |
|
23 November 1916 |
9 January 1917 |
|
Nicholas II |
| 8 |
Knyaz (Prince) Nikolai Golitsyn |
|
9 January 1917 |
12 March 1917 |
|
Nicholas II |
|
Minister-Chairman of the Russian Provisional Government (1917)
|
| 9 |
1 |
Knyaz (Prince) Georgy Evgenyevich Lvov |
 |
23 March 1917 |
21 July 1917 |
Constitutional Democratic Party |
|
| 10 |
2 |
Alexander Kerensky |
 |
21 July 1917 |
8 November 1917 |
Socialist-Revolutionary Party |
|
|
Chairmen of the Council of Peoples' Commissars of the Russian SFSR (1917-1946)
|
| 11 |
1 |
Vladimir Lenin |
 |
7 November 1917 |
21 January 1924 |
Russian Social Democratic Worker's Party (Bolsheviks)
Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) |
Mikhail Kalinin |
| 12 |
2 |
Alexei Rykov |
 |
2 February 1924 |
18 May 1929 |
Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)
All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) |
Mikhail Kalinin |
| 13 |
3 |
Sergei Syrtsov |
|
18 May 1929 |
3 November 1930 |
All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) |
Mikhail Kalinin |
| 14 |
4 |
Daniil Sulimov |
|
3 November 1930 |
22 July 1937 |
All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) |
Mikhail Kalinin |
| 15 |
5 |
Nikolai Bulganin |
 |
22 July 1937 |
17 September 1938 |
All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) |
Mikhail Kalinin |
| 16 |
6 |
Vasiliy Vakhrushev |
|
29 July 1939 |
2 June 1940 |
All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) |
Alexei Badayev |
| 17 |
7 |
Ivan Khokhlov |
|
2 June 1940 |
23 June 1943 |
All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) |
Alexei Badayev |
| — |
— |
Konstantin Pamfilov (acting) |
|
5 May 1942 |
23 June 1943 |
All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) |
Alexei Badayev |
| 18 |
8 |
Alexey Kosygin |
 |
23 June 1943 |
23 March 1946 |
All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) |
Nikolai Shvernik |
|
Chairmen of the Council of Ministers of the Russian SFSR (1946-1991)
|
| 19 |
9 |
Mikhail Rodionov |
|
23 March 1946 |
9 March 1949 |
All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) |
Ivan Vlasov |
| 20 |
10 |
Boris Chernousov |
|
9 March 1949 |
20 October 1952 |
All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) |
Mikhail Tarasov |
| 21 |
11 |
Alexander Puzanov |
|
20 October 1952 |
24 January 1956 |
Communist Party of the Soviet Union |
Mikhail Tarasov |
| 22 |
12 |
Mikhail Yasnov |
|
24 January 1956 |
19 December 1957 |
Communist Party of the Soviet Union |
Mikhail Tarasov |
| 23 |
13 |
Frol Kozlov |
|
19 December 1957 |
31 March 1958 |
Communist Party of the Soviet Union |
Mikhail Tarasov |
| 24 |
14 |
Dmitry Polyansky |
|
31 March 1958 |
23 November 1962 |
Communist Party of the Soviet Union |
Nikolai Organov |
| 25 |
15 |
Gennady Voronov |
|
23 November 1962 |
23 July 1971 |
Communist Party of the Soviet Union |
Nikolai Ignatov |
| 26 |
16 |
Mikhail Solomentsev |
|
28 July 1971 |
24 June 1983 |
Communist Party of the Soviet Union |
Mikhail Yasnov |
| 27 |
17 |
Vitaly Vorotnikov |
|
24 June 1983 |
3 October 1988 |
Communist Party of the Soviet Union |
Mikhail Yasnov /
Vladimir Orlov |
| 28 |
18 |
Alexander Vlasov |
|
3 October 1988 |
15 June 1990 |
Communist Party of the Soviet Union |
Vitaly Vorotnikov |
| 29 |
19 |
Ivan Silayev |
No Image |
June 15, 1990 |
September 26, 1991 |
Communist Party of the Soviet Union |
Boris Yeltsin |
| — |
— |
Oleg Lobov
(Acting) |
No Image |
September 26, 1991 |
November 6, 1991 |
Communist Party of the Russian Federation |
Boris Yeltsin |
| — |
— |
Boris Yeltsin
(Head of Government of the Russian SFSR as President of the Russian SFSR) |
 |
November 6, 1991 |
December 25, 1991 |
Non-partisan |
Boris Yeltsin |
|
Prime Ministers of the Russian Federation (1991-Present)
|
| — |
— |
Boris Yeltsin
(Head of Government of the Russian Federation as President of the Russian Federation) |
|
December 25, 1991 |
June 15, 1992 |
Non-partisan |
Boris Yeltsin |
| — |
— |
Yegor Gaydar
(Acting) |
 |
June 15, 1992 |
December 14, 1992 |
Non-partisan |
Boris Yeltsin |
| 30 |
1 |
Viktor Chernomyrdin |
No Image |
December 14, 1992 |
March 23, 1998 |
Our Home is Russia |
Boris Yeltsin |
| 31 |
2 |
Sergei Kiriyenko |
No Image |
April 24, 1998
(Acting from March 23, 1998) |
August 23, 1998 |
Non-partisan |
Boris Yeltsin |
| — |
— |
Viktor Chernomyrdin
(Acting) |
No Image |
August 23, 1998 |
September 11, 1998 |
Our Home is Russia |
Boris Yeltsin |
| 32 |
3 |
Yevgeny Primakov |
 |
September 11, 1998 |
May 12, 1999 |
Non-partisan |
Boris Yeltsin |
| 33 |
4 |
Sergei Stepashin |
No Image |
May 19, 1999
(Acting from May 12, 1999) |
August 9, 1999 |
Non-partisan |
Boris Yeltsin |
| 34 |
5 |
Vladimir Putin
1st term |
 |
August 16, 1999
(Acting from August 9, 1999) |
May 7, 2000 |
Non-partisan |
Boris Yeltsin
Vladimir Putin
(acting) |
| 35 |
6 |
Mikhail Kasyanov |
 |
May 17, 2000
(Acting from May 7, 2000) |
February 24, 2004 |
Non-partisan |
Vladimir Putin |
| — |
— |
Viktor Khristenko
(Acting) |
 |
February 24, 2004 |
March 5, 2004 |
Non-partisan |
Vladimir Putin |
| 36 |
7 |
Mikhail Fradkov |
 |
March 12, 2004
(Acting from March 5, 2004) |
September 12, 2007
(Acting until September 14, 2007) |
Non-partisan |
Vladimir Putin |
| 37 |
8 |
Viktor Zubkov |
 |
September 14, 2007 |
May 7, 2008
(Acting until May 8, 2008) |
Non-partisan |
Vladimir Putin
Dmitry Medvedev |
| 38 |
9 |
Vladimir Putin
2nd term |
|
May 8, 2008 |
Incumbent |
Non-partisan
(Non-member chairman of United Russia) |
Dmitry Medvedev |
See also
|
Heads of Government of European States |
|
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|
|
1 Entirely in Southwest Asia; included here because of cultural, political and historical association with Europe. 2 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the definition of the border between Europe and Asia.
3 Mostly in Asia.
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