Actually, the formal name of the country is The Russian Federation. A federation, by definition, is a union of partially self-governing states or regions that are united by a central (or federal) government. The United States is a federation.

But, Russia being Russia, they implement the system in their own way.

The Russian Federation is made up of the following regions, called Federal Subjects:

  • 21 Republics – semi autonomous regions with their own constitution, president, and parliament.
  • 46 Oblasts (Provinces) – Kind of like a US state, but the Governor is appointed by the Federal Government. The legislature is locally elected.
  • 9 krais (Territories) – Mostly in the less populated frontiers.
  • 1 Autonomous Oblast – The Jewish Autonomous Oblast, created by Joseph Stalin (this will need more research)
  • 4 Autonomous Okrugs – More autonomous than Oblasts, but less than Republics
  • 2 Federal Cities – Moscow and St. Petersberg. These are under the direct control of the Federal Government (kind of like Washington D.C.)

Russia has a President, who is the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, and a Prime Minister, who is the Head of Government. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President. The President is elected by direct popular vote.

They have a bicameral legislature, called the Federal Assembly of Russia. There is an Upper House, called the Federation Council of Russia. The members of the Upper House are appointed by the heads of the Federal Subjects. Each Subject gets 2 “senators”. The Lower House is called the State Duma. It’s kind of unclear how they are elected. They are called “deputies”.

Each of the Federal Subjects has a flag. Many of the flags are awesome. The flag of The Russian Federation is less awesome. But the Coat of Arms is Awesome. I’ve put together a graphic to explain.

Source: wiki, CIA World Factbook, and Secretary of State. I tried to use some official Russian websites, but it turns out I can’t read Russian.

BTW, I strongly encourage independent research on the awesomeness of Russian Flags. Click the wiki link above to get the whole list.