Impeachment in Russia
Impeachment in Russia has been attempted exactly three times, and every single attempt aimed at one man: President Boris Yeltsin. Not one of the three votes ever removed him from office. One came far closer than the other two, falling only narrowly short of the number of votes it needed.
Russia's Constitution lays out an exact path for putting a sitting president on trial in parliament, with rulings from two separate courts and strict deadlines. Yet across three separate tries, that path has never once ended with a president actually losing his job. What does the process demand, and what happened each time Russia's parliament tried to walk it?
Article 93 spells out every step of the procedure, starting with formal charges brought by the State Duma. Before charges can proceed, both Russia's Supreme Court and its Constitutional Court must weigh in, confirming that the correct procedure has been followed. At least one third of the State Duma's deputies, 150 of them, must back the initial push. A special commission formed by the Duma must also issue its own conclusion before a vote can proceed. Once the Duma agrees to indict, it takes two thirds of the chamber, 300 votes, to formally bring charges.
The Federation Council then casts the final vote, needing two thirds of its members, 114 votes, to remove the president from office. The Federation Council has three months from the day the Duma brings charges to act. If it fails to vote for removal within that window, the charges are automatically considered rejected. The same Article 93 also covers a related question, stripping a former president of the legal immunity that shields him after leaving office. The first attempt to remove a sitting president under this kind of scrutiny unfolded in the spring of 1993.
On the 28th of March 1993, deputies brought the first impeachment vote against Boris Yeltsin, accusing him of violating the Constitution. The vote reached 617 votes in favor, short of the 689 majority required, so the impeachment did not pass. That defeat was the first sign that removing a sitting president through parliament would prove far harder in practice than the rules made it look. Six months later, the confrontation between Yeltsin and parliament turned far more serious.
On the 22nd of September 1993, parliament declared Boris Yeltsin dismissed as president in a formal, de jure sense. Power was handed to Vice President Alexander Rutskoy, who was assigned to carry out the president's duties. Yeltsin, however, stayed in office de facto and responded by declaring the dissolution of the Supreme Soviet, the body that had just voted him out. The standoff escalated into armed confrontation, an episode remembered as the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis. Yeltsin ultimately kept his position, and the crisis ended with his power intact. The next attempt to remove him would not come for nearly six years, and this time deputies would bring five separate charges instead of one.
Between the 11th and the 15th of May 1999, the State Duma considered five separate charges against Boris Yeltsin at the same time. The five charges spanned his entire presidency. They accused him of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the 1993 constitutional crisis, and the outbreak of the war in Chechnya. Two more charges accused him of weakening the country's defense and of what deputies called the genocide of the Russian people. Each of the five needed 300 votes to pass, and not one of them reached that number. The charge that came closest concerned the war in Chechnya, which drew 283 votes, seventeen short of the 300 required.
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation gave 127-128 votes to every one of the five charges, more than any other faction. Yabloko told a different story. It gave zero votes to the genocide charge but 37 votes to the Chechen War charge, its highest total of the five. Our Home - Russia, a faction generally aligned with the Kremlin, cast as few as zero votes on one charge and never rose above two. The remaining factions filled in the middle: People's Power gave 42-43 votes each time, Regions of Russia gave 19-22, and LDPR gave only 1-2. Independent deputies added 9-12 votes apiece. Across all five charges, the overall total ranged from 238 votes on the genocide charge up to 283 on the Chechen War charge. One faction, the Agro-Industrial Group, cast exactly 35 votes on every single one of the five charges. It was the only bloc whose support never wavered by even a single vote.
Common questions
What is impeachment in Russia and how does the constitutional process work?
Impeachment in Russia is a constitutional process under Article 93 that lets the State Duma indict a sitting president, with the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court reviewing whether the correct procedure was followed. The Federation Council then holds the final vote to remove the president from office, and both stages require a two-thirds majority.
How many times has impeachment in Russia been attempted, and against whom?
Impeachment in Russia has been attempted three times, and every attempt targeted President Boris Yeltsin. All three attempts failed to remove him from office.
When was the first impeachment in Russia attempted against Boris Yeltsin?
The first impeachment in Russia against Boris Yeltsin took place on the 28th of March 1993, over an accusation that he had violated the Constitution. The vote reached 617 votes, short of the 689 majority required, so it failed.
What happened during the September 1993 impeachment in Russia against Boris Yeltsin?
During the September 1993 impeachment in Russia, parliament declared Boris Yeltsin dismissed de jure on the 22nd of September 1993 and handed his duties to Vice President Alexander Rutskoy. Yeltsin remained in office de facto, declared the dissolution of the Supreme Soviet, and the standoff escalated into the armed 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, which he survived in power.
How close did the 1999 impeachment in Russia come to removing Boris Yeltsin?
The 1999 impeachment in Russia, held between the 11th and the 15th of May, brought five charges against Boris Yeltsin, and none reached the 300 votes needed. The closest was the charge over the war in Chechnya, which drew 283 votes, seventeen short of the threshold.
How many votes does impeachment in Russia require to remove a president?
Impeachment in Russia requires the State Duma to vote for indictment with 300 votes, two thirds of the chamber. The Federation Council must then vote to remove the president with 114 votes, also two thirds, within three months of the Duma bringing charges.
All sources
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