Wiki Countries Russia

Russia

Country profile: how Russia fits the patterns described in the main guide, with every development linked to its source.

Last updated . Every factual claim links to its source.

This profile mirrors and is kept in sync with the Russia entry in the main guide's case studies.

Overview

A closed autocracy: Vladimir Putin was re-elected to a fifth term in March 2024 with roughly 87 percent of the vote, weeks after opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in an Arctic penal colony. Freedom House rates the country "Not Free."

Democracy indicators

Liberal Democracy Index, 1990–2025

V-Dem's Liberal Democracy Index for Russia was 0.10 in 1990, peaked at 0.30 in 1992, and stood at 0.06 in 2025 (scale 0–1). Dashed lines mark events described in the timeline below. Source: V-Dem via Our World in Data, retrieved November 7, 2026. Compare with other countries in the comparison tool.

Show the data
Country199020152025Regime type, 2025
Russia0.100.110.06Electoral autocracy

Timeline

Key dated developments, each linked to the reporting that confirms it. Wording is kept neutral; where a government disputes a characterization, its stated position is included. See also the master timeline across all countries.

  1. Boris Yeltsin resigned and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin became acting president. Putin's first act was to grant Yeltsin a pardon. He won the March 2000 election in the first round. Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica

  2. Gazprom's media arm took control of the independent NTV network and installed new management. Putin called it 'purely a business dispute'. Source: RFE/RL

  3. Yukos chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky, then Russia's richest man, was arrested. He was later convicted of fraud and tax evasion. Source: RFE/RL

  4. After the Beslan school siege, a law ended direct elections of regional governors in favour of presidential nomination. Putin framed it as a security measure against terrorism; critics said Beslan served as a pretext. Source: RFE/RL

  5. Putin signed a law requiring foreign-funded NGOs engaged in loosely defined 'political activity' to register as 'foreign agents'. Source: Al Jazeera

  6. A national vote approved constitutional amendments that reset Putin's presidential term count, allowing two more terms. Officials reported almost 78% support. Source: Meduza

  7. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detained on his return from Germany, where he had been treated after a Novichok poisoning. The Kremlin denied involvement in the poisoning. Source: Al Jazeera

  8. The Supreme Court ordered the liquidation of Memorial International, Russia's oldest human rights organization, citing violations of the foreign-agent law. Source: The Boston Globe

  9. Days after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia criminalized spreading 'false information' about the military, with up to 15 years in prison. Independent broadcasters closed or suspended operations. Source: RFE/RL

  10. The prison service announced that Navalny had died in an Arctic penal colony. His family and allies blame the Kremlin; officials gave no cause beyond saying he lost consciousness after a walk. Source: Novaya Gazeta Europe

  11. Putin won a fifth term with about 87% of the official vote. AP reported that independent monitoring was 'extremely limited' and that critics were jailed or in exile. Source: AP via PBS NewsHour

  12. United Russia won 349 of 450 State Duma seats. The anti-war Yabloko party was excluded from the national party-list ballot, and there was no recognized international observation. Source: International IDEA Democracy Tracker

Analytical lens

Concepts on this wiki that help explain this case: Autocratic Legalism, Spin Dictators, Regime Types: How Democracy Is Measured.

See also