Federation Council (Russia) in the context of "Federal Assembly of Russia"

A krai (Russian: край, romanized: kray, IPA: [krai], lit. 'region, edge') is a type of federal subject of the Russian Federation. The country is divided into 85 federal subjects, of which nine are krais. Oblasts, another type of federal subject, are legally identical to krais and the difference between a political entity with the name "krai" or "oblast" is purely traditional; both are constituent entities equivalent in legal status in Russia with representation in the Federation Council. During the Soviet era, the autonomous oblasts could be subordinated to republics or krais, but not to oblasts. Outside of political terminology, both words have a very similar general meaning ("region" or "area" in English) and can often be used interchangeably. When a distinction is desirable, "krai" is sometimes translated into English as "territory", (closer to "edge" in literal translation, what is more related with the March meaning as a "borderland") while "oblast" can variously be translated to "province" or "region", but both of these translations are also reasonable interpretations of "krai".

The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993.

The Duma headquarters are located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to as deputies. The State Duma replaced the Supreme Soviet as a result of the new constitution introduced by Boris Yeltsin in the aftermath of the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993, and approved in a nationwide referendum.

The minister of foreign affairs of the Russian Federation (Russian: Министры иностранных дел России, romanized: Ministry inostrannykh del Rossii) is a high-ranking Russian government official who heads the ministry of foreign affairs of the Russian Federation. The foreign minister is one of the five presidential ministers, along with the ministers of defence, interior, emergencies and justice. Although they are members of the Cabinet, they are directly subordinate to the President.

The foreign minister, like other presidential ministers, is nominated and appointed by the President after consultation with the Federation Council (whereas non-presidential ministers are nominated by the Prime Minister and appointed by the President after approval by the State Duma). The foreign minister is also a permanent member of the Russian Security Council.

The Director of Russia's Federal Security Service (Директор Федеральной Службы Безопасности) is the head and chief executive officer of the Federal Security Service, which is one of several Russian intelligence agencies. The Director of FSB reports directly to the president of Russia. The Director is assisted by the Deputy Director of the FSB.

The Director is a civilian or a general of the armed forces nominated by the president, with the concurring or nonconcurring recommendation from the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia and must be confirmed by a majority vote of the Federation Council.

Parliamentary elections were held in Russia on 12 December 1993 to elect all 450 seats of the 1st State Duma of the Russian Federation. Additionally, the elections were the first and only instance of direct elections to the Federation Council, with future members appointed by provincial legislatures and governors.

The far-right Liberal Democratic Party of Russia won a total of 64 seats, the most deputies of any single bloc in the chamber. The pro-government Choice of Russia bloc came second with 62 deputies, and the anti-government Communist Party of the Russian Federation came third with 42. Five seats in Tatarstan were left vacant due to turnout below 25%, and one seat in Chechnya was also unfilled.