[vkou]

That's because Yeltsin set the groundwork for him, in his 93' coup. Where he, as president, dramatically overstepped his constitutional authority, the Russian parliament started making impeachment noises, so he ordered to army to seize it.

The mid-level commanders that carried out his orders were rewarded with wealth and power. The ones that didn't got purged.

Russia came out of that coup and constitutional crisis with all power consolidated in the office of the President.

And you would never guess what happened next!

[insane_dreamer]

Hmm, it's almost like allowing a president to consolidate too much power in the Executive Branch can have terrible consequences. If only there was a lesson we could learn from this ...

[vkou]

Yes, it's almost like allowing a president to be above the law, or to appropriate power that is contrary to legislature and the constitution is bad for democracy.

[Muromec]

Take a look at provisional paragraphs of Ukrainian constitution. They are at the end and are quite interesting