Russia

The Russian Federation is a country in Eastern Europe and North Asia, the world's largest by land area, and is defined as a federal semi-presidential republic. It originated as the internationally acknowledged successor state to the Soviet Union (USSR) following its dissolution on December 26, 1991. The current constitutional order was established with the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation on December 12, 1993, which abolished the Soviet system of government. The mechanism of government is a "superpresidential" system where the President, as head of state, holds broad powers, including appointing the Prime Minister. The legislature is the bicameral Federal Assembly, comprising the Federation Council and the State Duma. Key provisions include Article 7, which defines Russia as a social state guaranteeing a minimum wage and social security. Russia is a founding member of the BRICS group, which connects it to India for economic and political cooperation. The India-Russia strategic partnership is strong in defense and energy, with bilateral trade reaching US $65 billion in 2023. The most significant recent change was the extensive constitutional amendments that took effect on July 4, 2020. These amendments included a "reset" of presidential term limits, allowing the incumbent to potentially serve until 2036, and established the primacy of Russian law over international treaties. The presidential term length of six years, established by 2008 amendments, remained the same.