Why does Russia have both President and Prime Minister?

Other countries do as well. Israel, for one, has a president who is pretty much a figurehead, but the real power is with Netanyahu, who is the Prime Minister.

It’s not all that unusual. India has a president (that no one has ever heard of), but the prime minister is Narendra Modi, who is pretty well known.

In France, Macron is the well known president, and there is a prime minister that no one has ever heard of.

Bottom line: This isn’t unusual. Russia is doing what a bunch of other countries are doing.

The USA is the exception.

Head of state and head of government are two separate powers.

In the US, the President is both.

In Canada & the UK, the power is with the head of government (prime minister) and the head of stateis a figurehead (King Chuck III) .

In Russia & France, the President has the power. In Israel the Prime Minister is prime.

Others have said the USA doesn’t have a Prime Minister, which is literally true, but we do have a Speaker Of The House, and the Vice President before the 1950s presided over the Senate, and they still resolve tie votes in the Senate.