Could President Vladimir Putin Be Removed from Office?

In 1993, the Russian Federation adopted a new constitution through a national referendum allowing democracy and capitalism for the first time in Russia. This piece of legislation was inspired by Mikhail Speransky’s constitutional project and the current French constitution. Modern Russia was created following the fall of the authoritarian Soviet Union. The 1993 Constitution defines Russia as a democratic and federative republic based on the rule of law. However, Yeltsin felt the need to strengthen the presidential powers under his first term in office in order to avoid any attempt of political coup. These super presidential powers will backfire years later with the arrival of Vladimir Putin who centralizes most of the government powers around his presidential office.