The president of the Russian Federation (Russian: , tr. Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the supreme head of state of the Russian Federation, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. It is the highest office in Russia.

The modern incarnation of the office has its roots in the presidency of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). The president of the RSFSR was established in the 1977 Soviet Constitution in order to more efficiently lead the RSFSR which had both the largest economy and population of all the republics in the Soviet Union. In 1991, Boris Yeltsin was the first non Communist Party member to be elected president. He played a crucial role in the Dissolution of the Soviet Union which saw the transformation of the RSFSR into the Russian Federation. Following a series of scandals and doubts about his leadership, violence erupted across Moscow in the 1993 Russian Constitutional Crisis. As a result, a new constitution was implemented and the 1993 Russian Constitution remains in force today. The constitution states that Russia is a semi-presidential system which separates the president of Russia from the Government of Russia, which exercises executive power.In all cases where the president of the Russian Federation is unable to fulfill their duties, those duties shall be temporarily delegated to the prime minister of Russia, who becomes acting president of Russia.The power includes execution of federal law, alongside the responsibility of appointing federal ministers, diplomatic, regulatory and judicial officers, and concluding treaties with foreign powers with the advice and consent of the State Duma and the Federation Council. The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves, and to convene and adjourn the Federal Assembly under extraordinary circumstances. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the Russian Federation.

The president is elected directly through a popular vote to a six-year term. The Constitution of the Russian Federation established term limits for the presidency restricting the officeholder to serve no more than two terms. However, the framework established by the constitution has since been overhauled in large part due to the constitutional amendments that were introduced in 2020. One of the amendments passed reset the terms of both Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, allowing either to serve as president for a full two terms regardless of their previous terms. In all, three individuals have served four presidencies spanning six full terms. In May 2012, Vladimir Putin became the fourth president; he was re-elected in March 2018 and inaugurated in May to a six-year term. He will be eligible for election in 2024.

The First Chechen War, also known as the First Chechen Campaign, or First Russian-Chechen war was a rebellion by the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the Russian Federation, fought from December 1994 to August 1996. The first war was preceded by the Russian Intervention in Ichkeria, in which Russia tried to covertly overthrow the Ichkerian government. After the initial campaign of 1994–1995, culminating in the devastating Battle of Grozny, Russian federal forces attempted to seize control of the mountainous area of Chechnya, but faced heavy resistance from Chechen guerrillas and raids on the flatlands. Despite Russia's overwhelming advantages in firepower, manpower, weaponry, artillery, combat vehicles, airstrikes and air support, the resulting widespread demoralization of federal forces and the almost universal opposition of the Russian public to the conflict led Boris Yeltsin's government to declare a ceasefire with the Chechens in 1996, and finally a peace treaty in 1997.

The official figure for Russian military deaths was 5,732; most estimates put the number between 3,500 and 7,500, but some go as high as 14,000. Although there are no accurate figures for the number of Chechen forces killed, various estimates put the number between approximately 3,000 to 17,391 dead or missing. Various figures estimate the number of civilian deaths at between 30,000 and 100,000 killed and possibly over 200,000 injured, while more than 500,000 people were displaced by the conflict, which left cities and villages across the republic in ruins. The conflict led to a significant decrease of non-Chechen population due to violence and discrimination.