Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday...
The lower house of the Russian parliament approved Protocol 14 on January 15 and the upper house on January 27.
Protocol 14, designed to simplify and speed up the work of the ECHR, had previously been signed and ratified by all 47 Council of Europe member states except Russia.
The protocol was introduced to help the court cope with the growing backlog of complaints, nearly one-third of them filed against Russia.
Moscow has often criticized the court"s rulings against it as political.
The Council of Europe welcomed Russia"s ratification.
Council of Europe Secretary-General Torbjorn Jagland previously said the ratification would be important "for the whole of Europe," strengthening the Court"s role in upholding human rights throughout Europe.
The State Duma, dominated by the Kremlin-backed United Russia party, declined to ratify the protocol in December 2006 on the grounds that some of its provisions were at odds with Russian laws.