This is the list of the heads of state of
Russia
after the monarchy had been
abolished
in 1917.
Russian Republic (1917?1918)
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With the abdication of Emperor
Nicholas II
after the February Revolution of 1917, power in Russia passed to the
Provisional Government
formed by the liberal leadership of the
Duma
.
Grand Duke Michael
had refused to ascend to his older brother's throne without the consent of an elected
Constituent Assembly
, and it was broadly assumed that the Assembly would be the only body with the authority to change the form of government. However, after a
failed coup attempt
against the government, the
Russian Republic
was proclaimed by Minister-President
Kerensky
. The
election
was scheduled for 25 [
O.S.
12] November 1917, yet when it finally took place, the power in the capital city of
Petrograd
had already
switched
to the
Bolshevik
revolutionaries. By that time, the government had been
de facto
dissolved, and the newly elected Assembly was also disbanded after its very first session by the Bolsheviks on 19 January 1918.
Russian State (1918?1920)
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The October Revolution sparked a
civil war
across the former
Russian Empire
, with the most prominent factions being the
Bolsheviks
, loosely connected anti-Bolshevik governments and armies known as the
White movement
, as well as numerous
independence movements
loosely aligned with the Whites. Various anti-Bolshevik governments began to form across Russia since early 1918, initially emerging among the
cossacks
of
Don
and
Kuban
. In September 1918, the largest factions united into the
Provisional All-Russian Government
, creating the
Russian State
. Two months later, Admiral
Alexander Kolchak
headed the Russian State as a Supreme Ruler. After Kolchak's defeat in 1920, the White movement started to decline, with most of its members
leaving Russia
in November 1920 under the command of General
Pyotr Wrangel
. Various social-democratic governments continued to function until June 1923, when the Bolsheviks
suppressed the Yakut revolt
in
Priamurye
.
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1917?1991)
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On 30 December 1922, the Russian Soviet Republic, along with the
Soviet pro-Bolshevik republics
of
Ukraine
,
Belarus
and the
Southern Caucasus
were merged into the
Soviet Union
, with the Russian SFSR authorities holding the authority of the highly centralized country, which was governed by a leader of the Communist Party (informally known as
Vozhd
) or a collective leadership (
Politburo
). In 1938, the
Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR
was formed. Following the adoption of amendments to the
Constitution
in 1989, the office of Chairman of the Presidium was removed, and the position of the Russian head of state passed directly to the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet in May 1990.
Russian Federation (since 1991)
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On 17 March 1991, the
all-Russian referendum
on the introduction of presidency was held. More than 70% of citizens voted for the introduction of the office. On 12 June, Boris Yeltsin won 57% of the popular vote in the
first democratic presidential election
.
Yeltsin's inauguration
took place on 10 July. On 12 December, Russia ratified the
Belovezh Accords
, thus dissolving the Soviet Union. On 25 December, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was renamed
Russian Federation
, with the names of the state and its highest executive office constitutionally amended in 1992. The office got its current status with the adoption of a
new constitution
in 1993, following an
armed dispute
between the president and the
parliament
.
Timeline
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See Also
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